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Group races to save 2nd oldest Gilbert building before August demolition

Clare House
HD SOUTH—The Home of the Gilbert Historical Museum
The Clare House in 2008.

Preservationists are still trying to save the second oldest building in Gilbert, as the deadline for demolition has been extended yet again.

The Clare house was scheduled to be demolished July 15. It now has until late August to be saved. The land was bought by a private company, with plans to replace the 106-year-old building with a bar.

Organizers still have over $100,000 to raise in order to pick up the Clare house, and move it to HD South - Home of the Gilbert Museum.

“Until we can’t raise any more or until the developer says they’re done and need to get going, then we’ll just keep plugging along," said Denise Lopez, the President and CEO of the museum.

Julia Taggart, President of the Sunnyslope Historical Society, says that the effort to save the old building hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“And if it doesn’t get saved, I think it still shows that community came together, not just in Gilbert but all around Arizona, to help a community save their history," Taggart said.

Lopez says the end goal is to turn the Clare house into an exhibit.

More Arizona History

Keller Brown was an intern at KJZZ in 2024.