Sylvester Manor to expand infrastructure and add programs: $3.75 million grant will bring major upgrades
Sylvester Manor recently was awarded a multi-million grant for capital improvements and to dramatically expand the capacity of the 1737 Manor House.
The three-year grant totaling $3.75 million from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will be split into two interrelated components, according to Manor officials, with $2.5 million used to rehabilitate part of the rear section of the house, which dates from 1908.
A Center for History & Heritage will be established there, according to the staff, and include offices, exhibition and program spaces along with meeting areas on the first floor. The rehabilitated second floor will have work spaces for artists and scholars-in-residence.
The basement will also be getting a makeover, with support facilities, a kitchen and workshops. Exterior ramps will be installed and an elevator will be put in place making the building fully accessible and ADA compliant.
The remaining $1.25 million, according to the Manor staff, will be used to expand capacity within the rehabilitated Manor House, and support full-time staff positions for the History & Heritage team and the implementation of associated programs, tours, exhibitions and research.
“Sylvester Manor is the steward of an important site of New York, American, and world history that has the power and potential to reach and relate to every one of us,” said Mellon Foundation Humanities in Place Program Officer Justin Garrett Moore. “With Mellon support for the preservation and improvement of the historic home and expanded staff for the History & Heritage Department, the infrastructure will soon be in place to enable greater public access to a more complete account of American history and life. In addition, artist and scholar residencies at Sylvester Manor will be an exciting opportunity to keep the site’s rich and layered history alive and engaging, reminding us that the past is present, and helps to shape our collective future.”
Manor Executive Director Stephen Searl released a statement saying, “In early 2022 Sylvester Manor received a Mellon Foundation grant, which allowed the History & Heritage staff to advance ongoing research into the lives of the enslaved and free people of color at Sylvester Manor, including those believed to be buried in the Afro-Indigenous Burial Ground, and expand partnerships with institutions of higher learning and other historic sites.
“With the support of this Planning Grant, Sylvester Manor not only strengthened its research, partnerships and programming but also cultivated opportunities and platforms to present and collaborate on a national and international stage. We are thrilled to be able to take this transformative step in partnership with Mellon’s Humanities in Place team.
“Today’s $3.75 million grant will help make this nationally significant historic site fully accessible for public programming and scholarly place-based learning, and enable staff to continue the important work of researching and interpreting a more inclusive history of Sylvester Manor and this nation.”
