Historic mansion opens doors in gala celebration of 100 years

Alec Baldwin's character slept here in the movie ''State and Main."

Robert Urich's fictitious ''Spenser: For Hire" detective spent time here.

And many a bride and groom have wed here -- in real life.

The Endicott Estate, a lavish, 26-room mansion on 15 acres in Dedham, was built for a family of four 100 years ago, but thousands have made themselves at home here over the years -- thanks to the generosity of Katherine Endicott, who willed the house to the town in 1967 for public use.

In honor of the estate's 100th birthday, its managers are throwing a fund-raising gala on Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight. Partygoers will have a chance to check out the recent $1 million in restoration work at the mansion, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, said Ginny McLaughlin, estate manager.

The estate has an annual operating budget of about $245,000. Rental fees generate about $125,000; the rest is covered by the town and by benefits such as Saturday's gala.

''I consider it to be a jewel of the town," said Town Administrator William Keegan. ''It clearly has a huge amount of historical significance. It's something we all are very, very proud of."

The mansion was built in 1905 by Henry Bradford Endicott, the founder of the New York-based Endicott Johnson shoe company, as the family homestead. The three-story house boasts nine bathrooms, eight bedrooms, a library, a music room, a ballroom, a mirrored parlor, a butler's kitchen, a linen room, and servants' quarters.

The original house on the property burned to the ground in 1904. The local volunteer fire department needed to respond to three separate fires burning simultaneously, and by the time they got to the Endicott property, it was too late to save the house. However, the family rebuilt it in grand style.

Endicott died in 1920, and the house was passed to his wife, Louise. In 1944, the couple's daughter, Katherine, became the owner, and when she died in 1967, at age 87, she gave the property to Dedham to be used for educational, civic, social, and recreational purposes, McLaughlin said.

It has served every purpose desired, and then some. The mansion's interior served as a hotel in the 2000 David Mamet film ''State and Main," which also featured Sarah Jessica Parker. One of the mansion's second-floor closets served as the infirmary in a hospital scene for an episode of the 1980s series ''Spenser: For Hire." And each year, dozens of weddings take place at the big yellow mansion.

The estate also has been used to showcase the work of local decorators, and for private fund-raisers, outdoor festivals, craft fairs, antique auto shows, and meetings by local organizations (which use the estate free of charge), including the Boys Scouts. Concerts are held on the grounds in the summer. What was once a nine-car garage now serves as the Endicott branch of the Dedham Public Library.

This spring, the annual James Joyce Ramble began and ended here. The 10K road race, during which volunteers in costume read excerpts from the writer's works to the passing throngs, brings up to 5,000 runners to the estate.

''It's a beautiful place to meet. Every speaker who comes in is very impressed with it," said Dave Kenney, president of the Olde Colony Civil War Round Table. The group, which studies the history of the American Civil War, meets here once a month.

''It's a very important part of community life," which is just what Katherine Endicott had instructed, said McLaughlin. ''She wanted the home and the property to be enjoyed by the people and the town."

The Endicott family was known for its generosity, said Henri Gough, chairman of the Endicott Estate Commission, which oversees the property.

During World War I, Henry Endicott used the grounds to grow potatoes to support the war effort. After the fire destroyed the mansion, he donated a fire truck to the town, according to Rita Mae Cushman, a member of the Friends of the Endicott Estate Inc. Each year, Henry Endicott gave away shoes in town to those who needed them.

Katherine Endicott, according to McLaughlin, was ''a lady of leisure" who loved travel and riding horses. ''And she was very much a family person," she said. Although Endicott never married, she kept close family relationships with her nieces and cousins, who often visited the mansion, said McLaughlin.

John Endicott Hutchins, a great-grandson of Henry Endicott, spent a lot of time in the mansion as a youngster.

''The house means a lot to me personally -- I grew up in it," said Hutchins, 63, who lives in Milton. ''It was fun. I never viewed that house as large. It was always like a homey place."

For more information and tickets to the gala, call 781-326-0012.Sandy Coleman can be reached at sbcoleman@globe.com.