Facility Rental - Cunningham House Studio
Cunningham House Studio
Once the home of artist Kathleen McEnery Cunningham, the Regency-style Cunningham House today contains RMSC administrative offices. The artist's elegant former studio is available to host up to 40 guests for your event.
The Studio is perfect for seminars, small receptions, showers, and rehearsal dinners. Cunningham House History:Ownership of the property upon which the Cunningham House now stands can be traced to John Culver in the year 1815. From that point, the property passed through several owners and was purchased in 1872 by Benjamin E. Chase. In 1916, Francis E. Cunningham purchased the property from the Chase estate and in turn deeded the house to his wife, Kathleen. At that time, the house was in the Victorian style having been constructed in about 1880.
Soon after the purchase of the property by Francis Cunningham, the Rochester architectural firm of Arnold and Stern was engaged to redesign and remodel the house. The Regency style dwelling, which exists today, is a result of that redesign by Herbert Stern. It was then that the wing was added to the north of the original house to serve as Kathleen's studio - she being a professional artist and patron of the arts.
In 1969, Kathleen Cunningham made a gift of the house to the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC). As part of the RMSC long range plan, the structure was destined to become the administrative hub of the growing RMSC complex.
A generous gift from the Frank E. Gannett Newspaper Foundation, Inc. in 1974 made possible the refurbishment which was completed in early December 1975.
The only structural changes to the exterior of the house were those mandated by safety and fire regulations. Inside, on the first floor, every attempt was made to retain the architectural integrity of the house. Only minimal structural changes were made. On the second and third floors, there have been structural alterations dictated by the necessity to create functional office areas.
The Rochester Museum & Science Center, through the generosity of Kathleen Cunningham and the Gannett Foundation, has here accomplished two things at one stroke - namely, the preservation of a historically significant Rochester house while at the same time utilizing it on a day-to-day basis.
Contact Information:AnitaJoan Angelico
Manager, Hospitality
anitajoan_angelico@rmsc.org
P:
(585)697-1943
F: (585)271-0492
