NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (EYT) — It may well be that the stars are going to align this time and that New Bethlehem will see the start of an artist’s cooperative. (Pictured above: The Keck Building, New Bethlehem, Pa.)
A small but enthusiastic group of local artists met with the owner of the Keck Building on Arch Street last Thursday evening to discuss the possibility of establishing an art gallery on the second floor of the historic building. Building owner Sandy Mateer hosted the meeting to see if there was enough interest among local artists to develop some sort of art gallery in New Bethlehem.
The Keck Building on Arch Street was built in 1915 at the edge of what was then the New Bethlehem railroad yard.
Among the many tenants of the building was a livery stable, then later on an automobile repair garage. The American Express Freight company had offices and likely warehouse space in the building. During the construction of the Mahoning Dam, the second floor of the building was used by the Corp of Engineers as a drafting room for the architects and engineers. After the dam’s construction, RMS Furniture used the building for a warehouse, and there were several apartments in the building. Later, Tri-County Discount Grocery was a tenant. The latest use of the building was a slot car racing game room.
Mrs. Mateer recently purchased the property, which she hopes to develop as a “Town Center” with ties to the Redbank Trail and businesses that appeal and cater to people using the trail. She has already leased out space on the ground floor for a coffee shop, which Mrs. Mateer hopes will open before the end of this year. She intends to offer space on the ground floor to the Redbank Valley Historical Society.
An art gallery would be a good fit for the demographics that use the trail.
Sandy Mateer explained to the group that there were about 5,000 square feet of space in the roughly L-shaped open space on the second floor. There is an area in the space that as a counter and a room that could be used as a business office for the gallery. The north and east walls of the open room are solid brick with no interior walls, leaving an “old warehouse” type look to the room. The windows on those walls have dark brown wood trim. While the south wall of the second floor open space is nearly all windows, giving great natural light that would enhance the exhibiting of artwork. Mrs. Mateer said there is still a significant amount of remodeling that is needed, but that space could be used now, and continuing restoration could be done as time and funding allow.
After suggesting that the artists in attendance consider forming some sort of organization to coordinate and develop the art gallery concept, the artists gathered and began brainstorming about the framework of such a group and the structure of the gallery. The group expressed excitement for seeing a gallery develop, and there really was a lot of the “can do” attitude apparent. The consensus of those at the meeting was that they should start with what is there and build the co-op and gallery as they go along. This meshed well with the idea of using the Keck Building space as is and improving the facility as time goes along.
The meeting ended with the artists agreeing to talk about this with other area artists and crafters and to meet again on September 28 to take the next steps to develop an organization if there is enough interest.
