This old Canadian landmark was built in 1910 as the First Baptist Church. Its construction represented a great deal of work and sacrifice on the part of the early-day Baptist families. In 1955, the Church of Christ bought the building and used it as their place of worship for the following twenty years. In 1977, after having sat vacant for two years, the plan was to tear the building down and make way for something new.

The Abrahams, on the other hand, had a different idea. Being contributing members of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, they were concerned with the need to safeguard America’s landmarks. Well, here was a local landmark with 8,000 square feet of floor space, fabulous brickwork, tall white columns, stained glass windows, and a very uncertain future. Their dreamhouse was here, hiding in disguise all along. It was to be a mind-expanding project. Ideas for their new home were popping up so quickly that they had no need for an outside architect or decorator. This would be “their baby” – a very personal and special home. Welcome to The Mansion at The Citadelle.

World-class museums don’t happen overnight; they emerge. They evolve like “cream rising to the top.” Usually, they are the combination of a lifetime of gathering, building, selecting, choosing, and perhaps “being in the right place at the right time.”

This is what has created The Citadelle in Canadian, Texas. It has been a combination of creativity, the ability to make instant decisions, the keeping of one’s “ear to the ground” and decades of searching for “pick of the show.” No “also-rans” have ever been admitted to the collection.

Although Malouf & Therese Abraham flew in the cheap seats on airplanes and drove old cars, they spent over forty years in a passionate search for objects that represent human effort in its finest moments, objects that clearly were inspired. Being “pretty” is not enough to get into this collection.

Malouf & Therese viewed this exciting journey as “spending money and growing richer.” It was a joy for them to put the house, the gardens, and the collection together. They said it was a dream come true to live in its presence and to be continually surrounded by such beauty. The time has come to turn the page and begin the next chapter.

Our Earthly lives are transient. Night cometh. Rather than having a three-day auction in New York City, the Abrahams want to keep the collection together at The Citadelle and establish it as a place where future generations can come to be inspired and find themselves surrounded by extraordinary beauty and peacefulness. Then, as they leave, perhaps they will have been somehow changed.