OHRH Museum Plans

Under a contract between the Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters and Amaze Design, the first phase of the museum planning process has been completed. The final layout shows the space usage within the house, including ADA accessibility to the first floor.

The plans are the result of a months-long collaborative effort between Scott Rabiet, principal designer of Amaze Design, the executive committee of the Friends and Steve Tilly Architects.

Scott visited OHRH twice, took multiple measurements and held several Zoom sessions with us to discuss many options for the use of the rooms of OHRH. Since it is a very old building—expanded several times in the 18th and 19th-centuries—there are different floor levels, different ceiling heights and many structural issues to consider. We discussed several options for the newly reconstructed north addition, such as where the ADA-compliant bathroom, storage and a new exterior door would best be located. Considerations included details like the best layout of chairs for watching our introductory video and where to store those chairs so the room can be cleared for other uses.

The house will have eight rooms open to the public and some space will be flexible for special exhibits and events. Many options and ideas were discussed and modified during the meetings. A draft was sent to the entire OHRH board and to our Academic Advisory Committee for comments. Scott produced several versions of the plans before we agreed to this final layout. It has now been sent to Steve Tilly Architects to be incorporated into the architectural drawings for the final phase of the restoration.

See the museum planning document here.

While the last phase of the physical work is underway, the job of the Friends, the Academic Advisory committee and community stakeholders is to establish the goals and priorities of the museum. This 292-year-old building holds so many stories—from its first construction in 1732 to its role as the headquarters of General Rochambeau and the post-Revolution purchase by John Odell to the life in late 19th and early 20th-century suburban Westchester to the present day. The remainder of 2024 will be spent working together planning how to best present the story of the house and the people who lived there.