FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, August 11, 2011
CONTACT: Ellen K. Wheeler, Public Relations & Communications Director (585) 279-7490, ext. 15
Rochester, NY—The Susan B. Anthony House officially re-opens the guest room, the large second-floor front bedroom in the National Historic Landmark, with a special event on Friday, August 19 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. called “Meet the Madison Mavens.” Reservations are required at 585-279-7490, ext. 12 or lstrasenburgh@susanbanthonyhouse.org. Admission is $25 for non-members, complimentary for members.
“The room has been closed to the public for nearly two years, undergoing rehabilitation,” explains Deborah Hughes, executive director of the Susan B. Anthony House. “For many years after the Susan B. Anthony Memorial was established in 1945-6, this was the museum room, exhibiting the large collection of historic photos of the suffrage campaigns given to the House by Carrie Chapman Catt. We now re-open it as a bedroom, with portraits of some of the people who stayed overnight here displayed on the walls.”
These “Madison Mavens” include Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Anna Howard Shaw, Ida Husted Harper, Carrie Chapman Catt, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Lucy Read Anthony, who purchased the House in 1865 and used this room as a bedroom until her death in 1880. After that it became a parlor for a time when Mary Anthony rented out the first floor to tenants, then a workroom for the suffrage campaign, then a guest chamber for the many people who visited Susan B. and Mary Anthony over the years.
“As a guest room, this space gives us the opportunity to share information about some of the many amazing women who were important to the Anthonys and who stayed overnight in this house,” Hughes explains. “Each of these featured women played a significant role in the women’s rights movement and other important social reforms. For them, the House on Madison Street was a hub of energy, inspiration, and activity.”
The event will include visits with House docents portraying six of the people whose portraits are on display in the guest room. Light refreshments will be served in the Carriage House.
For more information, please go to www.susanbanthonyhouse.org or call 585-279-7490, ext. 12.
Mission Statement (adopted 4/2010): The National Susan B. Anthony House and Museum preserves the National Historic Landmark where the great reformer lived for 40 of her most politically active years, collects and exhibits artifacts related to her life and work, and offers programs through its learning center that challenge individuals to make a positive difference in their lives and communities.
The Susan B. Anthony House is supported primarily through the contributions of its members and donors. The Susan B. Anthony House is not affiliated with other organizations bearing her name.