 In 1983, the Michel Brothers sold their company to Foremost Dairy and placed the Main Street property on the market.In 1984, Thomas Eatherton, an artist whose studio was in a 2,000 square foot metal outbuilding on the north end of the site, showed neighbor Abby Sher, who had a family history of development, the original ice warehouse with its 25-foot ceilings, clerestory windows, and 8,000 square feet of clear span, and suggested its use as a museum.Sher took the suggestion as the impetus for creating a small piazza-like setting with the museum as its centerpiece.