SYRACUSE, NY.- The Everson Museum of Art announced it has been awarded funding in support 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. The funding comes in the form of a $500,000 New York State Historic Preservation grant, as well as a $50,000 New York State Council on the Arts grant for the Everson’s summer 2013 exhibition “An American Look: Fashion, Decorative Arts and Gustav Stickley.”

The restoration of the Gustav Stickley House 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. The proposal directly supports the Regional Economic Development Council’s initiative to empower community, business, and academic leaders to develop strategic plans in order create jobs and support economic growth.

“This is an exciting moment for the entire community. The grant from the New York State Historic Preservation Fund, through the Regional Economic Development Council, allows the Everson and L. & J. G. Stickley to begin the process of preserving this national treasure,” said Steven Kern, Everson Museum of Art executive director.

This summer, the Everson will kick off its new relationship with the Gustav Stickley House by presenting “An American Look: Fashion, Decorative Arts and Gustav Stickley,” an exhibition that will raise awareness and interest in the master craftsmanship of Gustav Stickley and the influence his work had on other art forms in his time. The exhibition will be on view June 15 – September 22, and it made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts.

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.