The former Pell family’s summer estate home at Fort Ticonderoga is undergoing major restorations
Fort Ticonderoga has been awarded $100,000 under the 2019 Adirondack Park Community Smart Growth Grant Program.
The money awarded will help support the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Pavilion, a National Historic Landmark house located adjacent to The King’s Garden on the Fort Ticonderoga grounds. The historic Pell family home was built in 1826 by William Ferris Pell and later used as a hotel. It welcomed historic figures such as Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of President Lincoln, and was visited by William Howard Taft and Alice Paul. Fort Ticonderoga Museum founders Sarah and Stephen Pell, considered some of the earliest preservationists in America, restored what became known as the Pavilion and Fort Ticonderoga in 1909. The Pavilion is one of the most important architectural structures in the Adirondacks because of its design and history.
“We look forward to opening the Pavilion once again to the public next year in 2020- marking 200 years of preservation at Ticonderoga, the earliest in American history,” said Beth Hill, Fort Ticonderoga president and CEO. “This grant brings us one step closer to completing restoration and adaptive reuse of the Pavilion, making it accessible for all to enjoy as we launch the next chapter in the house’s story with expanded visitor amenities, meeting and event space including weddings, a state-of-the-art catering kitchen, café, exhibitions and more.”
“Fort Ticonderoga is a place for everyone to enjoy and to learn so much about our incredible history,” said Senator Betty Little. “I am so pleased Fort Ticonderoga is receiving this grant to ensure accessibility for all and congratulate them on doing so.”
“I am pleased that the Fort Ticonderoga Pavilion has been awarded funding that will allow them to provide handicap access along with other amenities towards the restoration of this beautiful historic building. The Pavilion is a treasure to the Ticonderoga community and enhancing its access for all to enjoy is welcoming news,” said Assemblyman Dan Stec.
Restoration work on the Pavilion is ongoing and expected to be complete in 2020.
This Project has been funded in part by a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Adirondack Park Community Smart Growth Program through appropriations from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).
About Fort Ticonderoga:
Welcoming visitors since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga preserves North America’s largest 18th-century artillery collection, 2,000 acres of historic landscape on Lake Champlain, and Carillon Battlefield, and the largest series of untouched Revolutionary War era earthworks surviving in America. As a multi-day destination and the premier place to learn more about our nation’s earliest years and America’s military heritage, Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 75,000 visitors each year with an economic impact of more than $12 million annually and offers programs, historic interpretation, boat cruises, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits throughout the year, and is open for daily visitation May through October. Fort Ticonderoga is supported in part through generous donations and with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Stay tuned here and on Fort Ticonderoga’s Facebook page for updates on the restoration of the Pavilion, new discoveries, and more from Fort Ticonderoga every week.