The property as it appears today.
In what it is calling its most significant development since it was founded, the Keeler Tavern Museum is pledging $1.15 million to re-acquire the next-door property at 152 Main Street, including the building originally designed as a memorial to architect Cass Gilbert.
“Fifty years ago, far-sighted Ridgefield people created a museum that they believed could become a center for history and a valuable community asset,” said Joel Third, president of Keeler Tavern Museum.
“By reuniting these properties, we are taking this once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve our capacity to show visitors — especially young people — how relevant the tavern’s three-century history can be in understanding not only where we’ve come from but also where we are going as a community and country.”
The adjoining two-acre property had been part of the historic original parcel since its 1713 settlement. It was sold by Gilbert’s heirs in 1958; since that time, the red-brick Georgian-style building has been the professional office and home of the late Dr. Robert Mead.
Patricia Mead, his wife, said of the sale: “We’ve been museum neighbors for all of its 50 years, and my husband Bob hoped that when the time came the property could be returned to the Keeler Tavern. I’m thrilled for Ridgefield and for us that our hope is now a reality.”
Cass Gilbert descendants were delighted to learn of the return of the property, reported Helen Post Curry, the architect’s great-granddaughter. She recalls summers spent playing with her cousin in the dwelling they called the Brick House, which once had been a home for the extended Gilbert family.
“We all think it is the most wonderful news that the properties will once again be connected and that the Brick House will provide much-needed space for the museum’s use,” Curry said.
The Gilbert memorial was originally designed as a museum and library to house the architect’s vast collection of papers, drawings, blueprints, and photographs. It is expected to become a natural complement to Keeler Tavern Museum by providing additional visitor and exhibit space, archival and collections storage, as well as facilities for an expanding education initiative. Its acquisition means that the streetscape of the campus will now extend for some 350 feet along Main Street.
Cass Gilbert, among the most celebrated architects of his generation, purchased the tavern property in 1907 as a summer home. Following his death, Gilbert’s widow Julia commissioned the memorial building; it was dedicated in October 1937 in a ceremony led by Connecticut Governor Wilbur Cross. A few years later, the structure became a home for members of the Gilbert family until it passed to ownership by the Meads in 1958.
The Keeler Tavern Museum, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, presents three centuries of the town’s history through the lives of the families that occupied the site starting in 1713. It offers docent-led tours of its period-furnished building February through December (Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, 1:00–4:00 p.m.; adults, $8; children and seniors, $5).
The Cass Gilbert-designed garden is open to the public all year, except during private events. More information may be found at www.keelertavernmuseum.org and at Facebook.com/KeelerTavernMuseum, or by calling the office at 203-438-5485. Keeler Tavern Museum is located at 132 Main Street.
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