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'Spirit of the town': Preservation efforts continue for Gilbert's Clare House
By Jordan Bontke,
2 days ago
A last-ditch effort to save the second oldest building in Gilbert got a little more breathing room over the weekend.
The Clare House was set for demolition on Monday, but that deadline has since been extended for a couple more weeks.
For more than 100 years, the Clare House has sat along what is now Gilbert Road. The town’s historical museum has shared that the people who used to live in the Clare House helped make Gilbert the town it is today.
A developer had July 15 circled on the calendar as the day the demolition of the important piece of town history would start. It will soon be Bottled Blonde - a two-story pizzeria by day and nightclub by night.
“When you look at it, it’s a very kind of small-town feel,” said Julia Taggart.
When Taggart of Sunnyslope’s Historical Society learned the Clare House was set for demolition, she joined the preservation effort, in part, spearheaded by Casey Kendel with Gilbert’s redevelopment commission for the Heritage District.
When we met on Friday, they were faced with the daunting task of raising more than $110,000 in about two days.
That money is needed to pick up the Clare House, restore it, and move about a mile down the road to HD South, Gilbert’s Historical Museum.
Back in April , ABC15 was told that the Clare House would be open for tourism once it’s in place at HD South.
See reporter Jordan Bontke's previous reporting in the video player below:
Gilbert community raising funds to save century-old Clare House threatened by new development
”Progress is always good, but it’s always better to hold onto your roots,” said Kendel.
Just as the weekend was starting, the developer for Bottled Blonde, who has already pitched in to donate the structure and begin the renovation process on the Clare House, also extended the demolition deadline to August 1.
This allows the town more than two weeks to better understand how the Clare family helped make the town of Gilbert part of what it is today.
HD South Clare House - sheet metal shop in 1918
”They were very loved in this community, they were known as Mama and Papa Clare,” said Denise Lopez, President of HD South.
Forrest and Frona Clare helped bring the first Methodist church to the town. As an avid guitar and banjo player, Forrest brought the first band to Gilbert.
The Clare family also ran a very-needed sheet metal shop for the surrounding farming community, Lopez explained.
The two were so loved, they invited the entire town to their 70th wedding anniversary in 1980.
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”Really, what it is, it’s the spirit of the town,” said Kendel.
To keep the Clare spirit alive and allow the town to better understand its roots, the preservation effort is looking to raise more than $110,000 before the end of July.
”If we had everyone in this town donate one dollar — one dollar — we can save this house,” said Kendel.
If the money can’t be raised, Lopez said they’ll save parts of the home to be restored.
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