More About The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum to hold Red Carpet Gala Celebrating its Cinematic History
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will host a “Red Carpet Gala” on Oct. 3, 2026, at 6 p.m. The event will take place in the Mansion’s historic rooms at 295 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT. LMMM Trustee Ernest DesRochers and Board of Trustees Chairman Douglas Hempstead will co-chair the evening.
The gala will feature Hollywood glamour, an exciting cinematic experience courtesy of the Avon Theatre, an exclusive preview of the exhibition, “The Evolving Icon,” in collaboration with The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists, a formal dinner, silent and live auctions, and more. Guests are encouraged to dress in red carpet or black-tie optional attire.
The gala will celebrate the Mansion’s history as a silver-screen backdrop. For the past 50 years, this institution has served as a movie set for widely known films such as “House of Dark Shadows” and “The Stepford Wives.” It was also featured in “Glacier Bay,” starring Norwalk resident and Emmy-nominated actor James Noble, and more recently, Netflix’s “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” starring the legendary Donald Sutherland.
The Museum’s 2026 Gala is generously sponsored in part by Gala Distinguished Benefactors: Fairfield County Bank and Northmarq; Gala Sustainers: Seaman Construction Inc., and Alchemy Celebrations; and Gala Media Sponsor: Moffly Media.
LMMM’s 2026 programs are made possible in part by LMMM’s 2026 Season Distinguished Benefactors: The City of Norwalk, The Maurice Goodman Foundation, Inc., and Lockwood-Mathews Foundation, Inc.; LMMM’s Leadership Patrons: Dr. Michele & Attorney Miklos Koleszar and The Sealark Foundation, Inc. For more information on tours and programs, please visit Click for Details, email info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799, ext. 3.
The gala will feature Hollywood glamour, an exciting cinematic experience courtesy of the Avon Theatre, an exclusive preview of the exhibition, “The Evolving Icon,” in collaboration with The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists, a formal dinner, silent and live auctions, and more. Guests are encouraged to dress in red carpet or black-tie optional attire.
The gala will celebrate the Mansion’s history as a silver-screen backdrop. For the past 50 years, this institution has served as a movie set for widely known films such as “House of Dark Shadows” and “The Stepford Wives.” It was also featured in “Glacier Bay,” starring Norwalk resident and Emmy-nominated actor James Noble, and more recently, Netflix’s “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” starring the legendary Donald Sutherland.
The Museum’s 2026 Gala is generously sponsored in part by Gala Distinguished Benefactors: Fairfield County Bank and Northmarq; Gala Sustainers: Seaman Construction Inc., and Alchemy Celebrations; and Gala Media Sponsor: Moffly Media.
LMMM’s 2026 programs are made possible in part by LMMM’s 2026 Season Distinguished Benefactors: The City of Norwalk, The Maurice Goodman Foundation, Inc., and Lockwood-Mathews Foundation, Inc.; LMMM’s Leadership Patrons: Dr. Michele & Attorney Miklos Koleszar and The Sealark Foundation, Inc. For more information on tours and programs, please visit Click for Details, email info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799, ext. 3.
Date & Time
October 3, 2026
6:00pm - 10:00pm
Location
Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum
295 West Avenue
Norwalk, CT 06850
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More About Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is regarded as one of the earliest and most significant Second Empire Style country houses in the United States. Built by renowned financier and railroad tycoon LeGrand Lockwood from 1864-1868, the Mansion, with its unparalleled architecture and interiors, illustrates magnificently the beauty and splendor of the Victorian Era.
Lockwood’s financial reversal in 1869, and his untimely death in 1872, resulted in the loss of the estate then known as “Elm Park,” through foreclosure, in 1874. In 1876, the property was sold to Charles D. Mathews and his wife Rebecca. Mathews, a prominent importer from New York, and his family, resided in the Mansion until 1938. In 1941, the estate was sold to the City of Norwalk and designated a public park.
The Mansion was a technological marvel of its time: it had indoor hot and cold plumbing, gas lighting, ventilation, and a central heating system that burned a ton of coal a day. Indeed, there is no comparable mansion museum in our state. Built during the Civil War and still inhabited during the Great Depression, there is no institution in Connecticut that is better able to bring to life these significant events in American history.
When the building was threatened with demolition in the 1960s, concerned citizens galvanized to save the Mansion in one the most important and hard-fought preservation battles in Connecticut’s history. These local preservationists succeeded in saving the Mansion in 1965, and later formed the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum of Norwalk, Inc., a 501(c)(3), which was designated a National Historic Landmark, in 1971.
Lockwood’s financial reversal in 1869, and his untimely death in 1872, resulted in the loss of the estate then known as “Elm Park,” through foreclosure, in 1874. In 1876, the property was sold to Charles D. Mathews and his wife Rebecca. Mathews, a prominent importer from New York, and his family, resided in the Mansion until 1938. In 1941, the estate was sold to the City of Norwalk and designated a public park.
The Mansion was a technological marvel of its time: it had indoor hot and cold plumbing, gas lighting, ventilation, and a central heating system that burned a ton of coal a day. Indeed, there is no comparable mansion museum in our state. Built during the Civil War and still inhabited during the Great Depression, there is no institution in Connecticut that is better able to bring to life these significant events in American history.
When the building was threatened with demolition in the 1960s, concerned citizens galvanized to save the Mansion in one the most important and hard-fought preservation battles in Connecticut’s history. These local preservationists succeeded in saving the Mansion in 1965, and later formed the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum of Norwalk, Inc., a 501(c)(3), which was designated a National Historic Landmark, in 1971.
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