Jay Heritage Center receives $1.5M gift to create exhibit and performance center

The Jay Heritage Center (JHC) has received a transformative gift of $1.5 million to open the Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Exhibit and Performance Center at the Jay Estate in Rye.

This landmark donation will help restore and rehabilitate an existing historic Carriage House at their 23-acre campus, designed in 1906-7 by the notable New York architect Frank A. Rooke. The space has already proven itself ideally suited as a community gathering place for lectures, concerts, art exhibits, and more—drawing thousands of visitors from the tri-state area. The generosity of the Wachenheim family will expand JHC’s ability to host an even more robust calendar of offerings and attract world-class musicians and artists to share their work.

The building’s rich mahogany ceilings, terracotta brick floors, and enameled walls produce the most unique acoustics. Chamber ensembles from Juilliard and Yale’s Opera Project, in addition to jazz, cabaret, and a cappella groups, have previously delighted audiences of 150 and more at this site. The high ceilings and accessible floor plan have made the building perfect for photography and art exhibits as well. The refurbishment will include the finishing of bright, skylit ateliers on the second floor, where invited composers, writers, and artists can be inspired.

As with other preservation projects at the Jay Estate, plans will conserve original materials but also incorporate sustainable features wherever possible.

A celebratory concert with composer, pianist, and MacArthur genius grant recipient Matthew Aucoin is planned for Mar. 26, 2023 at 4 p.m.