Oral History by Municipal Historian at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum to recapture the threat of demolition and rebirth

On Wed. June 8, 2016, 11 a.m. at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, Norwalk Municipal Historian Ralph Bloom will give a talk titled, From Warehouse to Landmark: A Personal Remembrance. The talk will be held at 295 West Ave, Norwalk, CT.

In a PowerPoint presentation featuring vintage photos and a collection of memories that spans several decades, Mr. Bloom will share his interest in the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion from teenage years to adulthood. Illustrations will show the condition of the Mansion at the time it had been slated for demolition, through the clean-up and preparation for public viewing.

Driven by his passion for history and the arts, Mr. Bloom has held a wide variety of positions and received public recognition for his many years of dedicated service to his community. He was appointed Municipal Historian by the City of Norwalk, he joined the Board of Overseers of Old Sturbridge Village, in Massachusetts, coordinated the photography for the book, When Gentlemen Wore Hats, authored by Dr. Deborah Wing Ray and Dr. Gloria P. Stewart and was presented with the Distinguished Advocate for the Arts Award by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts for 40 years of volunteerism. Mr. Bloom is currently a Trustee at the Norwalk Library.

This will be the first in a series of lectures by curators and experts in the field of Victorian era material life and the Museum’s 50 years of history. The lectures are $25 for members, $30 for non-members per session. Please RSVP by Friday, June 3, 2016. The price includes lecture, lunch and a first floor Mansion tour. Lunch is courtesy of Best in Gourmet. The chair of the Lecture Committee is Mimi Findlay of New Canaan. Please contact info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com or 203-838-9799, ext. 4 to purchase tickets.

The Museum’s 2016 cultural and educational programs are made possible in part by generous funding from LMMM’s Founding Patrons: The Estate of Mrs. Cynthia Clark Brown, the Museum’s Distinguished Benefactors: Klaff’s, The Xerox Foundation, and The Maurice Goodman Foundation.

The exhibitions currently on view, Demolish or Preserve: The 1960s at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion and The Stairs Below: The Mansion’s Domestic Servants, 1868-1938, Part II curated by Kathleen Bennewitz have been generously funded in part by the CT Humanities.

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is a National Historic Landmark. For more information on schedules and programs please visit: www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, e-mail info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799.