Grashow at The Granite: The Cathedral

Over 750 friends, fans, and Georgetown residents came out to attend Grashow at the Granite: The Cathedral, marking an extraordinary night in the life of The Granite. The culmination of 15 months of effort on the part of our creative advisors, this event was an amazing celebration of Jimmy Grashow’s lifetime of work and selfless contributions to the town of Redding.

Thank you for being part of this magical evening.

The transformation of the Granite Church into a performing arts and gathering space has always been about community, and the Grashow event brought us together in a remarkable way. It was our absolute privilege to have showcased the evening in this beautiful, historic building that seemed made for the occasion.

The Exhibition

The heart of the event, The Cathedral, depicts Jesus Christ bearing the weight of an ornately carved Renaissance-era cathedral on his back, while a tangle of demons claw at him from below. This evocative piece offers a unique perspective on the themes of man, nature, and mortality.

In the magnificent vaulted Granite sanctuary, the brilliance of Jimmy’s World is on full, glorious display. His unmatched ability to transform cardboard and wood into monumental works of art comes to life, ever-challenging traditional ideas of sculpture and inspiring all to see beyond the conventional.

Grashow at The Granite showcases Jimmy’s evolution, from his early woodcuts and sculptures, delicate houseplants and birds, to his latest awe-inspiring creations. The exhibition is a vibrant exploration of the artist’s obsession with fragility and mortality.

View the complete photo gallery in our Facebook album here.

James Grashow

James Grashow (b.1942) is an American artist who established himself early in his career, doing woodcuts and engravings for album covers and major publications. He is best known, however, for his creative genius working with cardboard. Grashow’s cardboard creations include large-scale installations such as fountains and menageries; smaller, elaborate cities and buildings amid flowers and leaves (Houseplants); and exquisitely detailed birds (Cardbirds). His works have been exhibited in museums and galleries across the country since the 1960s.

Take a peak inside – watch James Grashow, Acts of Creation, directed by Cindy Meehl.

Visit jamesgrashow.com to learn more.

Thank You!

Thank you to all who attended, supported, and helped create Grashow at the Granite: The Cathedral. Special thanks to all of our volunteers for making this event run smoothly, the incomparable Jen Wastrom, our friends at InSitu, and of course, Jimmy and Guzzy Grashow.

Thank you Cedar Creek Productions, Cindy Meehl, Michael Marocco, Nic Palazzo, Pasquale Pilato, Mitch Ancona, Sharon B. Stone, Alice Smith, Kristen Terrana Hollis, Kyle Orell, Laura Ancona, Timely Signs, Lysandra Marocco, Esteban Vega, Brien O’Reilly, Rick Wastrom, David Agress Lighting, Rich Wenning, and our entire board of directors.

Congratulations to our Creative Director for Visual Arts, Robert Mars, for a major accomplishment in partnering with James Grashow.

Finally, thank you again to all 750+ people who came out. We love this community!

Jimmy’s World

There’s still time to see Jimmy’s masterpieces! The Grashow exhibit, now titled Grashow at the Granite: Jimmy’s World (and excluding The Cathedral), will remain at The Granite and open to the public until October 19th. For complete gallery hours, please visit our event page.

Photos by Bryan Haeffele.

What an Amazing Day! Thank You!

On behalf of the Granite Church and SpreadMusicNow, we would like to thank everyone who was part of our debut event on May 18th. What an amazing day of celebration for our community. The energy was palpable and so many families joined the fun. Children dancing and doing arts and crafts, live music playing, and a wonderful variety of dogs and one splendid cat.

Attendance from all of the towns that comprise Georgetown was exciting, and it was wonderful that many people could walk from their homes.

Our incredible group of volunteers and community partners made the event a success. A special shout out to the Creative Advisory Committee that planned and managed all of the programming for the day. Thank you so much!

We could not have made it through the day without some delicious grub! A big thank you to the Redding Roadhouse and Uncle Leo’s for serving us all food.

Redding Roadhouse Uncle Leo's

One of our favorite moments from the day was the children’s dancing seminar with Melissa Stern. We were amazed by the children’s engagement level! They all danced their little hearts out. We could use a few more rainbow llamas – the stuffed animals proved to be excellent dancing companions.

Melissa Stern Dance Seminar with Kids

Overall, the Debut event was an enormous success. It exceeded our expectations to gather, connect, and create with the members of our community.

The event also raised $8,800, which will be put toward the restoration of the building and its programming! As a small nonprofit organization, your donations are critical to keeping the doors open. The Granite needs to raise $1.5 million in private donations to pay for the construction costs for the historic rehabilitation of the building. This will provide new accessible entrances and bathrooms, and a roof and windows that don’t leak.

Watch Our Event Slideshow

We can’t wait to host more events with all our local creatives! Check out our calendar and social media channels for the latest happenings.

THANK YOU!

Richard Wenning & Robert Mars

Gather. Connect. Create.

Thank You For Making Our Debut Event Possible

A heartfelt thank you to our partners and friends who made this all possible.

Thank You

Creative Advisory Committee Members

The Granite Debut event would not have been possible without these stellar individuals.

Robert Mars, Creative Director

Caroline Curatolo

Meredith Ferris

Dylan Martello

Stephen Massa

Brien O’Reilly

Joanna Ruvo

JD Seem

Elyse Shapiro

Sonia Skindrud

Melissa Stern

Kristen Terrana-Hollis

Maisie Todd Wallick

Matt Webber

All Creative Advisors

Fernando Luis Alvarez

Simon Bilyk

Babette Bloch

Susan Boone Durkee

Amy Cabot

Todd M. Casey

Kathy Coe

Jack Cole

Caroline Curatolo

David Daignault

Xhila Dorsman

Cat Lines

Robert Mars

Dylan Martello

Bob Marty

Stephen Massa

Christina Mattinson

Meredith Ferris

David Morgan

Brien O’Reilly

Michael Patrick

Daryn Reyman-Lock

Joanna Ruvo

Austin Scelzo

JD Seem

Elyse Shapiro

Sonia Skindrud

Scott Smith

Melissa Stern

Kristen Terrana-Hollis

Maisie Todd Wallick

Matt Webber

Organizations

Ancona’s Wines & Liquors anconaswine.com

Architectural Preservation Studio preservationstudio.com

Atelier Constantin Popescu atelierconstantinpopescu.com

Auburn Landing Construction auburnlanding.com

Bethel Music Center bmcmusicsource.com

Bethel Printing bethelprinting.com

Boys & Girls Club of Redding-Easton bgcre.net

Casey Energy casey-energy.com

CT Department of Economic & Community Development  portal.ct.gov

Dryden Designs LLC 

Georgetown Village Restoration georgetownct.org

Guitar Center  stores.guitarcenter.com

H. Hulse Heating and Cooling hhulse.com

J Green Woodworks jgreenwoodworks.com

Jonathan Seem, Keller Williams Realty kwstamford.com

Mark Twain Library marktwainlibrary.org

Music Shed musicshedct.com

Old Mill Market & Cafe theoldmillmarket.com

Palazzo Landscaping palazzolandscapinginc.com

Quartertone Coffee quartertonecoffee.com

Redding Open Lands, Inc reddingctlandtrust.org/roli

Redding Roadhouse thereddingroadhouse.com

Redding Roasters reddingroasters.com

Redding Sentinel reddingsentinel.org

Sabor Design sabordesign.com

Sawdust & Strata sawdustandstrata.com

Town of Redding townofreddingct.org

Trader Joe’s traderjoes.com

Uncle Leo’s & Rosny Gourmet facebook.com/uncleleos

Community arts and events space prepares for preliminary opening in May

Leaders of the community arts and music venue to be housed in the historic Granite Church at 5 North Main Street in Georgetown continue to fundraise for the renovations to the building ahead of the opening the spring. The venue, which has plans to also house a cafe and offer visual arts and theater, will be re-named The Granite.

Read more in the Redding Sentinel
Article By Donna Christopher

The Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill

The Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill is located in historic Georgetown, Connecticut. The Wire Mill and the adjacent Granite Church are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as contributing buildings to the Georgetown Historic District. The Town of Redding took ownership of the 44-acre Wire Field property in 2020.

Weaving Building

Did you know that the Gilbert & Bennett manufacturing plant began as a cottage industry, weaving animal hair from cows and horses? This is the Weaving Building, built in 1919. What do you think it could be used for next? There are so many possibilities, but we first need to make sure we save it and the other historic buildings before they fall down!

Check out the Wire Mill Committee’s recommendations for a five-year plan here.

weaving building currentweaving building

1914 and 1919 Buildings

The 1914 and 1919 Buildings are a part of the historic Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill. Both have their construction year in brick on the façade, but they’re falling into disrepair. We would love to see the recommended repairs happen so the whole town can enjoy this historic site once more. Couldn’t you just picture looking out 1914’s stunning round window?

1914 and 1919 building

Blue Building

This is the Blue Building (AKA the Machine Shop), a historic structure in the Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill. It is currently being rented out to the National Park Service as a machine shop that supports Weir Farm National Historical Park in Ridgefield. How can we keep the history of the wire mill as a “maker space” alive?

blue building public access

Sawtooth Building

This is the Sawtooth Building, an iconic part of the legendary Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill. It’s right next to the river, which has the potential to become a beautiful outdoor community space! It’s worth investing in saving the wire mill’s structures to ensure a beautiful future for Georgetown.

sawtooth building sawtooth building sawtooth building

Post Office

This is the old post office, part of the historic Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill. Here it is featured in the Saturday Evening Post in 1947 and beneath it, a photo of the building today. In a town so rich with history, we owe it to ourselves to invest in restoring this and the other wire mill buildings to support a vibrant Georgetown.

post office post office on post cover

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about our town’s historic site and that you have a chance to look at the Wire Mill Committee’s recommendations.

Check out the Wire Mill Committee’s recommendations for a five-year plan here.

What’s Happening at The Granite, December 2023

Thanks to your ideas and support, the Granite Church is on its way to becoming a vital community gathering space for artistic expression and the exchange of ideas.

We’ve made a lot of progress in readying the building this year. We regraded the property, patched the roof, and remediated the water damage. We are enormously grateful for the amazing volunteers who support our Creative Advisory Committee and for the many people who have attended our open houses and events. But much work remains.

Annual Appeal

As this year closes and we turn to funding a new heating system, we need your help bringing our vision to reality. We plan to open as a nonprofit community arts space in the spring of 2024!

You can make a difference by including the Granite Church in your end-of-year giving. Please consider donating today!

Conditions Assessment Report Finalized

Front doors at the Granite ChurchOur architectural team, Carl Rothbart & Rose Long at Architectural Preservation Studio, recently completed a conditions assessment, and the good news is that the building is in better shape than originally thought! While this is exciting, the building still needs about $3 million in historic rehabilitation and building infrastructure.

Updates are required for the building to be open to public events with a larger capacity. We’ll need new entrances and restrooms to ensure the building is accessible to everyone and we need to improve the roof and exterior to keep the water out for good.

Read the full report here.

The Conditions Assessment was funded by the State of Connecticut through the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).

National Register Plaque

The William G. Pomeroy Foundation awarded us a grant of $1,550 for a National Register plaque! This new historical marker will honor the legacy of the Granite Church and help inform the public about its history.

Creative Conversations

Coffee and Conversation group meeting at the churchWe’ve hosted a series of Creative Conversation gatherings, which have evolved into our Creative Advisory Committee! These meetings have been popular with local creatives looking to strengthen the arts community and shape programming at the Granite. We now have artist advisors for music, visual arts, theater, and dance and are grateful to members of the community for showing such strong interest. If you would like to participate, please reach out.

Lend your ideas about the programming you would like to see and how you think the building should be used. We are super excited about finding artistic and civic leaders who want to use the Granite. We hope to have the venue ready as a private event space in May 2024 but there will be another year or more of work depending on funding to ready the space for public events.

Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, December 30th at 10 am at the Granite. Learn more here.

Management by SpreadMusicNow

SpreadMusicNow logoSpreadMusicNow, Inc. is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) public charity that supports music education, creative youth development, and artistic expression. In 2023, SpreadMusicNow began managing the Granite Church and is responsible for handling all donations. 100% of your donation goes to the Granite Church. All donations are tax-deductible. EIN: 83-0713289.

To make this a community-driven venue ready for artistic performance we need everyone’s help. Consider becoming an individual or corporate donor. Give Now

Our First Grant and What It Means for the Granite Church

Hi! I’m Dr. Daryn Reyman-Lock, and I am a historic preservation specialist. Part of my job is working with owners of historic buildings to help make preservation and, oftentimes, restoration a financially feasible possibility. It is difficult to be a steward of a historic structure, especially as an individual homeowner, but there are options to help make the potential financial burden of historic structure stewardship easier, especially if the owner is a non-profit foundation.

BeFoundation purchased the Granite Church in 2022 and, when doing so, sought an abbreviated form of assessment. They hired two different firms to assess potential issues with the external walls (the building envelope) and some of the more obvious issues internally which stemmed from water infiltration during large rain events. However, while some of these issues were addressed, it was important during these initial phases of planning to get a better understanding of some of the difficulties and building issues that might be faced down the line. As a result, we submitted an application to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for a Survey and Planning Grant.

The grant was approved! The Granite Church officially earned its first grant, which will help us continue the process of revitalizing this unique space for the community.

Survey and Planning Grants enable non-profits and municipalities to access monies that can aid in historic preservation and associated planning including National, State, or Local Historic Designations, Archaeological Preserves, historic structure reports, structural analyses, adaptive reuse studies, architectural plans, and, in the case of the Granite Church, conditions assessments.

To secure this grant, BeFoundation had to submit a Survey and Planning Grant application which detailed not only the history of the organization and supplied an overview of the Church’s history, but also outlined what needed to be done and why and how this would benefit both BeFoundation and users of the space. The grant requires a 1:1 match, so for the $20,000 awarded by SHPO, BeFoundation will match with a $20,000 investment of their own, to make a total of $40,000 for the project.

Once contracts were signed between BeFoundation and SHPO, we wrote a Request for Proposals (RFP) which we posted publicly and are using to solicit bids from at least three firms we were interested in hearing from specifically. The conditions assessment must be completed by a qualified architect or architectural firm and will be used to inform future construction plans. In particular, the bell tower and mortar need to be examined, as does the roof of the building which may need replacing. The conditions assessment will also provide an understanding of whether the structural system is intact and in good condition and give ideas for how best to maintain integrity while being conscious of how to restore the building to historic standards.

This grant and the subsequent conditions assessment will allow BeFoundation to make this space usable to its fullest potential for the community. It will help us understand its earlier history and construction, and provide valuable feedback on how best to alter the interior while preserving the historic character which adds so much charm to Georgetown.

SpreadMusicNow is Moving In!

From SpreadMusicNow:

SpreadMusicNow’s new home is at the Granite Church at 5 N Main Street in Redding, Connecticut. The town of Redding is where we were founded, and where we’ve had the opportunity to grow and thrive as an organization, and now we’re honored to join the burgeoning Georgetown neighborhood.

Being part of this unique space that will benefit the community is a gift that we will not take for granted.

The Granite Church will be a vibrant community resource available for many public and private events, including concerts, dances, speakers, plays, art exhibits; yoga and art classes; weddings, dinners, corporate events; and office rental or use of the lower level with community room.

The historic rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the Church is currently underway! Once renovations are completed, SpreadMusicNow will be able to host events. Learn more about the Granite Church project here.

SpreadMusicNow logoSpreadMusicNow at the Granite Church will focus its efforts on expanding our mission to support music education and creative youth development that promotes educational, career, and life success through music and arts programming.

Our mailing address remains unchanged. Please feel free to contact us at P.O. Box 1330 Redding, CT 06875.

Learn more about SpreadMusicNow here.

BeFoundation to Host Community Open House

Redding-based charity BeFoundation has purchased the former Georgetown Bible Church and has plans to convert the building into a community gathering and performing arts
space.

Read more in the Redding Sentinel

Community Shares Ideas at Granite Church Open House

BeFoundation held an open house for the community at the former Georgetown Bible Church (also known as the “Granite Church”) in Georgetown on Sunday, November 20. Over 200 people attended throughout the day and enjoyed live music, food, and kids’ activities while also giving feedback on how the building should be used in the future as an arts and cultural center.

Read more in the Redding Sentinel

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