Fifteen years ago, CitySpace was an idea sparked by the people of Easthampton to transform the iconic Old Town Hall into a dynamic hub for the arts.

How did it all start? When the city vacated its Old Town Hall offices in 2003, the city’s Future Use Committee asked residents what they envisioned for long-term use for the building. After 3000 surveys provided resounding support for a dedicated place for the arts, the city of Easthampton began its search for an organization to manage the first floor, bring inspiring arts experiences to its spaces, and reduce the building’s maintenance costs to Easthampton’s taxpayers. In 2006, CitySpace was founded by Will Bundy, owner of Eastworks, and Ed Check, Easthampton resident and Senior Lecturer in Theatre at Smith College, and the seed was sown.

Fifteen years later, what began as a three-year lease of the building’s first floor has evolved into a 40+ year lease with a plan to convert the unused second floor into a 350-seat performance space. Planned renovations to the second floor include constructing a new box office, balcony access, updated theatrical lighting and sound systems, a new entryway, and an elevator to make the space accessible to everyone. This $6.9 million project will aid in CitySpace’s mission to restore our historic landmark and will provide an affordable, equitable, inclusive, and accessible state-of-the-art cultural resource for the community of Easthampton and the Western Massachusetts region.

“This is the ultimate form of recycling,” said Jean-Pierre Pasche, prognosticator, owner of Big Red Frame, and CitySpace’s first tenant in a 2007 Daily Hampshire Gazette article. “It’s a wonderful space that’s been empty. Now we can fill it up and make it dynamic again.” 

Old Town Hall’s second floor isn’t the only space that the organization has plans to renovate, however. After many months of deliberation and consideration of the impacts that so many organizations experienced from Covid-19, CitySpace sadly lost one of our tenants, Flywheel Arts Collective. With the first floor space now vacated, CitySpace is brainstorming alternative ways to use the small venue. With this in mind, we are turning to the performing artists, event makers, and community members of Western Massachusetts for feedback. CitySpace is requesting feedback to a short online survey to better understand what the community needs in order to get the best usage out of the space.

Nikki Beck, a CitySpace board member, says, “CitySpace is using the information collected in this survey to create our first-floor business plan, including rental rates and policies, as well as to help us make decisions about what equipment to provide in the space that future renters will be most interested in using.” She goes on to express, “While we hope to prioritize making this venue available to performing artists, the first-floor space is open to the whole community. We anticipate hosting gatherings of all kinds, from parties to fitness classes, meetings to pop-up shops! We especially look forward to welcoming the community back into the building as an audience for future events.”

CitySpace encourages all Western Massachusetts community members, whether or not they are involved in performing arts, to take our survey. The survey will be open until July 19, 2021.

With a decade-and-a-half of memorable experiences created by artists, performers, volunteers, visitors, and CitySpace tenants, the Old Town Hall continues to offer an ideal place for meaningful, creative connections across communities. Happy Anniversary, CitySpace — this is only the beginning!