TOP STORY: Florence Griswold Museum Unveils $17.8 Million Expansion Inspired by Legacy and Landscape

OLD LYME–The Florence Griswold Museum is hoping construction can begin next year on a $17.8 million renovation and expansion project building on a priceless, 12-acre landscape that inspired an American art movement. 

Museum Executive Director Joshua Campbell Torrance in a press briefing Wednesday said the museum is looking toward a capital campaign goal of $24.2 million to cover construction, fundraising costs and a $5 million increase to its $32 million endowment. 

Renderings for the project, which is overseen by Massachusetts-based Oudens Ello Architecture and Stimson Studio landscape designers, show rooms that capitalize on open air designs and expansive windows to bring the outside in. An open air pavilion turns into an enclosed lobby and gift shop described by Torrance as an observation deck with views of the Lieutenant River, apple orchards and the remnants of Childe Hassam’s studio.

“The landscape is why we’re here,” he said. 

The expansion includes 3,000 square feet of new and reconfigured gallery space. Torrance said designers brought the open air concept into the exhibition space with north-facing skylights to introduce natural light without damaging sensitive pieces in the museum’s collection.

Matt Strekel, the museum’s development director, said the silent phase of a capital campaign instituted in 2022 has brought in $10.8 million to date. The success of fundraising efforts going forward will determine if the project can be completed in one 17-month project or in two separate phases spread out over a longer period. 

“We will continue to fundraise, certainly as we move forward through the planning process and as our plans come into sharper view,” Strekel said. 

Torrance was hopeful shovels could be in the ground this coming spring for at least the first phase of the project. 

The museum, with a $3.7 million annual budget and 22 full-time employees, sees about 36,500 guests per year and has 3,000 members.

According to Torrance, the museum in the years leading up to 2020 had achieved “a strong record of excellence” through well-received exhibitions, preservation efforts and programs. 

Then the world changed. 

“Post-pandemic, we recognized the need to adapt and to grow,” he said. “Like many museums, Flo Gris needed to evolve and refine our offerings to remain relevant to today’s audiences, and also to grow revenues to fulfill our mission.” 

Expenses, according to Torrance, are currently outpacing revenue. He said costs associated with curating the collections and preserving the Florence Griswold House, a national historic landmark that anchors the Lyme Street museum, continue to rise. 

Strekel and Torrance recounted the past four years spent analyzing data from membership surveys, studies of the physical site and the broader economic factors, and a long-range master plan. The result is the blueprint for a renovated and expanded 17,385 square foot facility where views of the picturesque landscape are as valuable to the design as any piece of art in the new and reconfigured galleries. 

The project, which relies heavily on the renovation and reconfiguration of the existing 12,177 square foot Robert and Nancy Krieble Gallery and Marshfield House, represents a net gain of 5,208 square feet. Torrance said the museum is proposing the relocation of the Huntley-Brown House off site to allow for a streamlined entryway. The 1795 house was initially moved to the property from Boston Post Road.  

“We’ve really been careful to think through a project that didn’t substantially increase the size of what we have,” Torrance said. “We call it an expansion, but it’s really a renovation of the current building as well as a modest expansion.”

He said the plan builds on “the sense of place and community” created by a woman whose hospitality turned one house into a storied Impressionist art colony. It also remains heavily influenced by the site’s unique natural attributes.

“We are inspired by the story of the art colony she helped nurture and create, a story of coming together, of the sharing of the magic of this bend in the river, and the creative energy that is ignited by the movement of water, the play of light, the verdant landscape, and by human curiosity,” Torrance said.

Torrance detailed a redesigned entranceway and buildings they hope will draw new and repeat visitors, including those in a one-hour radius where more than 2.7 million residents are predicted to move by 2027.

He credited the demographic forecast to Elevated LLC, an economic and management consulting firm from Boston hired by the museum in 2023. The same group estimated the planned improvements could drive up attendance at least 26%. 

“Their findings showed that our corner of Connecticut is an exceptionally competitive area for arts and cultural institutions, yet Flo Gris remains one of this region’s cultural front runner,” he said. 

He said the museum will continue to refine the designs as they seek state and local permitting approvals beginning this fall amid continued fundraising efforts. 

Museum Communications Director Tammi Flynn emphasized the importance of the visitor experience in the new vision for more exhibition space, new programs and a research center. 

“This will really give people something to come back for, which is what we hope for them to do,” she said.

For more information on the Florence Griswold Museum, visit their website.