Join the generations who have visited the Anthony Museum  to experience the power of place. Leave inspired and re-energized to continue Anthony’s unfinished work.

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Susan B. Anthony worked for many reforms, including suffrage, temperance, and abolition. Gain insight into this revolutionary and visionary woman by diving into one of her causes:

Abolition • Suffrage • Education Reform • Labor Reform • Temperance

For many years, the Anthony Museum has been strategizing how to address three challenges that limit our effectiveness:

• Proper environment and storage for our permanent collection
• Facilities that can accommodate our growing audience
• Space in which to tell the broader story of Susan B. Anthony’s work and impact

In 2018, we came to the conclusion that adding a building to our Anthony Museum campus would be the most effective way to address all three challenges. Studies confirmed that a 20,000 square foot building would meet our needs, allow for future growth, and be sustainable for the organization. New construction would be necessary (and most cost effective) to assure the facility is engineered to museum standards for accessibility, security, safety, and environmental controls. 

Our next step was to find a suitable site for the new building that would: 1. Be within walking distance of the current Anthony Museum historic properties, 2. Accommodate increased traffic flow by cars and buses with minimum impact to the historic district, and 3. Fit well with the City of Rochester’s Plan 2034 for community development.

After some bumps, we identified six contingent parcels that would become our building site and three more that would allow for parking and bus access to the historic properties. In November of 2021, the Rochester City Council voted to sell us the eight parcels that were city-owned vacant land, and in December we entered into a contract to purchase the one parcel that was privately owned.

With the acquisition of these parcels, we are moving this plan a big step closer to reality. Now we are busy with strategies and plans for the future. We have partnered with Solid Light, Inc., a museum design firm that has created innovative museum spaces such as the American Civil War Museum and the Discovery Park of America. Also on board are SWBR and Christa Construction. Just as Susan B. Anthony valued the power of like-minded people working together for a common goal, we are pleased to partner with this team of professionals to move us closer to our goal.

The bonus impact of the new interpretive center is its promise to bring much-needed cultural tourism dollars into our community. When visitors come from out-of-town and stay overnight, it is estimated that they spend $600 per night in the local economy as they rent hotel rooms, eat meals, buy tickets, use transportation, and shop. Based on this model, if the Anthony Museum draws 10,000 new visitors to Rochester, that will have an economic impact of $6 Million.

Of course, they may only spend $25 of that at the Anthony Museum, but we will be thrilled to bring those new dollars into our local economy.

The Anthony Museum launched the “2020 Quilt Project” to celebrate the Women’s Suffrage Centennial in 2020. This   collaborative public art project produced 325 textile “blocks” created by artists from across the United States and Canada.  Each block represents a theme significant to the artist, with a focus on the people, places, and events related to the woman’s suffrage movement or the unfinished business of securing equal rights for all, regardless of gender. The blocks can be displayed individually, in small sets, or as a whole “quilt.”

Visit the 2020 Quilt Project site to see a gallery of the blocks and learn more about this project.