For Caboose Gallery, there's room at the inn

KENT — The Kent Caboose Gallery, formerly at 11 Railroad St., is moving to 23 Maple St., to The Kent Country Inn.

Julie Butler, owner of both the gallery and the inn, said it was time for her to consolidate both businesses.

“I have owned the inn since 1998 and ran it until 2003,� she explained. “From 2003 to 2008, the inn was turned into the restaurant Moosilauke. However, when the manager of the restaurant left, I didn’t want to continue it. I decided to turn it back into an inn.�

Butler opened the gallery in the train caboose in 2007.  It was formerly the  longtime home of the Paris-New York-Kent Gallery, owned by Jacques Kaplan, who died in 2008.

Butler said moving the gallery to the inn will give her more freedom — and more room to display works of art.

“I’m excited about it because, even though I loved running an art gallery out of an old caboose, the inn is a better location for it,� she said. “The inn is next to the Morrison and Ober Art Galleries, so it’s a perfect fit. I have much more space for art, including sculptures, because I have about a half-acre of outdoor space.�

Butler said the inn will be fully open for business in May and the gallery will reopen sometime after that.

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