Phillips House trustees plan for renovation in Rockville Centre

The 19th century building which houses many of Rockville Centre’s historical artifacts will undergo renovations in the coming year.

The Phillips House Museum, a restored Victorian-era home, is itself a piece of village history. It was originally built as a home for the retired sea Captain, Samuel Phillips. Later, the home was used as a rooming house, and when the medical center needed the land on which the Phillips House stood, at North Village and Maine avenues, the building was moved in 1978 to its current location and turned into a museum.

The museum’s board of trustees has decided that the Phillips House is finally in need of an upgrade.

“All of the windows are solid and vinyl, and they can’t be opened,” said Trustee Tom Hodge. “The lack of air circulation can create problems, not only for the patrons that come in, but for the exhibits.”

The trustees also hope to work on the basement, Hodge said, which floods when it rains.

Finally, the trustees would like to add climate control to the museum with air conditioning.

Hodge said the cost of the renovations in total add up to nearly $90,000.

“We applied for one $10,000 grant, we’ll probably know about that by late spring,” Hodge said.

One of the village’s grant writers has also applied for a grant on the state level, Hodge said, which would “practically pay for everything if we get it.”

The Phillips House will also hold fundraisers to obtain money for the renovations. The first will be held at the Manhattan Bar & Lounge on March 11 between 4:30 and 7:30. The cost will be $25 per person and all proceeds will go toward the museum’s renovations.