CT’s Wadsworth Mansion featured on ‘Antiques Roadshow;’ Paul Newman autograph among finds
PBS program “Antiques Roadshow” started its 26th season off with a Connecticut classic: Middletown’s Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate.
The mansion played host for the first three episodes of the season as people from around the area brought their treasures on-site to be examined by professional appraisers.
The Wadsworth episodes include an “Antiques Roadshow” first, according to a news release. The team appraised its first antique car, with longtime Connecticut resident Paul Newman’s autograph on the dashboard.
Other items in the premiere episode include a 1915-1916 Boston Red Sox baseball calendar featuring Babe Ruth, an Easter Island Tahonga, and letters written by Mahatma Gandhi.
The first episode premiered on Jan. 3 after filming in Middletown in August of last year. The subsequent two episodes will air on Jan. 10 and 17.
The Colonial revival-style mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places and was built in 1900, according to its website. The grounds feature extensive parklands with walking trails and are adjacent to Wadsworth Falls State Park.
An episode of PBS Antique Roadshow will be filming at Wadsworth Mansion, 421 Wadsworth St., Middletown, on Aug. 10.
The show followed all COVID-19 protocols during filming, according to the previous reporting, and only invited guests, appraisers, and the production team was allowed access to the estate at that time.
This season’s filming locations also included Hempstead House at Sands Point Preserve in Sands Point, N.Y., Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, N.H., and Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, N.J., and Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Va.
“Antiques Roadshow” season one premiered in 1997 and is produced by WGBH in Boston.
The season 26 premiere is available to watch online at PBS.org or on YouTube.