SYRACUSE, NY.- The Everson Museum of Art and the L. & J.G. Stickley Company announced that discussions have begun to explore the possibility of renovating and restoring the Gustav Stickley House, located at 438 Columbus Avenue in Syracuse, as a historic house and museum operated by the Everson Museum. A survey is underway by architects and preservation planners Crawford & Stearns to identify the feasibility of the project and develop a work detail with the costs associated with it.

Stickley’s unassuming Queen Anne Victorian house was built in 1900. Following a Christmas Eve fire in 1901, Stickley rebuilt the house with a new Arts and Crafts interior, the first in the United States . The interior is unique and represents the aesthetic shift in America that precipitated the spread of the Arts and Crafts style across the country. The house, which is currently unoccupied, was purchased in 1995 by the L. & J.G. Stickley Company to save its historic interior from being dismantled and sold at auction.

The restoration of this national treasure will create a unique destination of international importance given the historical significance of the house’s interior as the birth place of the American Arts and Crafts style. This project will have direct and significant impact on neighborhood revitalization and city community districts, and overall have a positive impact on tourism in the Syracuse area.

“It is a world-class opportunity and the Everson shares the Stickley Company’s vision of keeping a key piece of Arts and Crafts history alive in Syracuse ,” said Steven Kern, Everson Museum of Art executive director.

“Our main purpose in purchasing the Stickley house was to preserve it as part of Syracuse ’s unique legacy and to restore it as a historic house museum and community resource. We feel there is no greater steward for fulfilling this mission than the Everson Museum and we are proud to have helped preserve this important treasure for future generations,” said Aminy Audi, L. & J.G. Stickley president & CEO.

In order to proceed with a fully funded initiative, the Everson Museum has sought New York State support through a proposal to the Regional Economic Development Council.