George Eastman Museum

Rochester, NY

Founded in 1947 on the estate of George Eastman, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the foremost motion picture archives. Its holdings include over 28,000 film titles, 26 million feet of nitrate film, and more than three million items in its moving image paper collections. These fragile nitrate materials are preserved at the museum’s off-site Louis B. Mayer Conservation Center—a state-of-the-art facility with twelve vaults and precise climate control. With support from FCI 2025, Eastman will replace the aging roof of the Conservation Center with a high-efficiency EPDM (synthetic rubber membrane) system to improve thermal performance and safeguard collections against environmental risk.

This upgrade concludes a decade-long series of capital improvements focused on sustainability and preservation. Since 2014, the museum has installed new HVAC and chiller systems, restored historic windows, insulated exteriors to lower emissions and energy use, and—as a result of a 2024 FCI Scoping Grant—installed LED systems. The roof replacement is expected to reduce annual energy consumption by 9 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent, reinforcing Eastman’s commitment to modeling sustainable practices while stewarding its world-renowned archival collections.

Milestones

• Replace roof with high-efficiency EPDM membrane

• Enhance energy efficiency and insulation performance

• Reduce energy use by 9 percent and GHG emissions by 8 percent annually

• Ensure preservation of nitrate film collections