The Colonial Revival mansion and estate of Kodak founder George Eastman is the world's oldest photography museum, where staff have reported a male apparition believed to be Eastman himself.
900 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
General admission required; discounts for seniors, students, and members.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved walks; mansion has elevators between main floors.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1905 · Residence of Kodak founder George Eastman · World's oldest photography museum (opened 1949) · National Historic Landmark (1966) · Major film and photography archive
The mansion at 900 East Avenue was designed by Rochester architect J. Foster Warner and built between 1902 and 1905 as the private residence of George Eastman, founder of the Eastman Kodak Company. The 35,000-square-foot Colonial Revival house sat on a then-rural estate that Eastman developed with conservatories, gardens, a working farm, and one of the earliest residential pipe organs in the United States.
Eastman lived in the home for the rest of his life. In his final two years, he was in intense pain caused by a degenerative spinal disorder, and on March 14, 1932, he died by suicide in an upstairs bedroom, leaving a brief note: 'To my friends: my work is done. Why wait?' His preserved suicide note remains on display in the second-floor sitting room as part of the museum's interpretive narrative about his life and death.
In 1947 the estate was incorporated as a nonprofit photography museum, and the public museum opened on November 19, 1949. Over subsequent decades the institution added the Dryden Theatre, a film archive, conservation labs, and major exhibition galleries while restoring the mansion's period rooms.
The property was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 for its association with Eastman and with the history of photography and motion picture film. Today the institution is known as the George Eastman Museum and is one of the world's foremost archives of photography and cinema.
Sources
According to the City of Rochester Ghost Tour (PocketSights), employees and visitors have reported a male apparition believed to be Eastman wandering the mansion in the early-morning hours and within the archives. Visitors have also described cold spots and a sense of being watched on the upper floors of the residence.
The Campus Times student newspaper has covered the legend in its Halloween features, noting that the museum acknowledges its ghost lore informally and has occasionally leaned into the reputation through its 'Masquerade in the Mansion' fundraising event. The museum does not market itself as a haunted attraction, and paranormal claims here are folkloric rather than institutionally documented.
Notable Entities
Tour the historic mansion, gardens, photography galleries, and Dryden Theatre. Eastman's preserved suicide note is on public display in the second-floor East-front sitting room.
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