LENOX, MA – Ventfort Hall Gilded Age Mansion & Museum has received a matching Destination Development grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT) for $48,000.

These much needed funds will be used for the restoration of the salon including the parquet floor with the Greek Key inlaid border, as well as restoring Sarah Morgan's 1895 Rosewood Steinway piano, and plaster restoration materials and training so our staff and volunteers can do the work in-house.

Executive Director for Ventfort Hall, Wendy Healey, said, “In order to increase Ventfort Hall’s program and event space to accommodate our expanding audience, we need to restore the floor of the Salon, a focal point of the main floor of the mansion, to return it to its historic beauty and enable us to use it for public programs. The Salon floor has deteriorated to the point that it can be safely open to the public on only a limited basis. Once restored to its original distinctive parquet design and reinforced, the Salon, together with the adjoining Library, will accommodate 150 to 200 people, becoming our largest event space.”

The Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) is the state agency dedicated to promoting Massachusetts as a leisure-travel destination. The Destination Development Capital (DDC) Grant Program supports projects that strengthen regional economies and improve the visitor experience across the state.