The George Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York
The historic homes and mansions throughout Rochester, New York are symbolic of its glorious past. The grandest of them all was built by George Eastman, founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, which became the world’s foremost camera and photographic company. The George Eastman Museum was established in 1947 to preserve the legacy of Rochester’s premier entrepreneur, inventor and and philanthropist.
Eastman revolutionized and simplified the technology of photography, making Kodak a household name. He wanted to bring photography to all, and, in 1888, with his slogan “You press the button, we do the rest,” sold a $25 simple hand-held box-style camera outfitted with enough of his flexible rolled film for 100 exposures. Cameras were shipped back for professional photo finishing and returned with a new film cartridge.
With his determination to make photography “as convenient as the pencil” he developed the simple and inexpensive Brownie camera in 1900. It was designed for children but quickly became enormously popular with all age groups.
Tours of the museum include major rooms in his 35,000-square-foot, fifty-room 1905 Colonial Revival Mansion, notably the relatively unchanged library and east sitting room, which is dominated by its mounted elephant’s head, a replica of the original.
The second floor features his mother’s bedroom, which has the best view of the gardens.
The second floor also includes exhibits on the evolution of photographic technology, beginning with a room dedicated to the camera obscura.
Eastman spared no expense when he had his mansion cut in half to enlarge his music room. He loved orchestral organ music and added a second organ to complement his original 1905 Aeolian organ, thereby creating his own version of surround sound.
Parts of the home have been converted to gallery space. The museum of international photography includes the full history of film and one of the oldest film archives in the world.
Thomas Edison visited Eastman in his Terrace Garden and together they demonstrated Kodacolor motion picture film.
Visitors can relax with view of that magnificent garden from some of the tables at the museum’s Open Face Café.
Eastman was one of the greatest philanthropists of his time. During his lifetime donated, often anonymously, over $100,000,000 to educational and art institutions, public parks, and for medical and dental clinics and hospitals in Rochester and around the world. He willed additional money for education, appreciation of the arts and expansion of medical services to the Rochester community. His philanthropy was among the highest in the world, equivalent to about $3 billion today.