OUR MISSION

To foster the arts and crafts by providing a wide range of instruction for adults and children. Castle Hill holds exhibitions, lectures, forums, concerts and other similar activities in order to promote social interaction among artists, craftsmen, laymen, and the community at large.

Letter from President | Letter from Executive Director

CASTLE HILL BARN NEEDS YOU!

Summer 2010

Painting

Drawing

Clay

Printmaking/
Book Arts

Photo by Joel Meyerowitz

The Castle Hill 1882 Barn Is Being Renovated ~
And we can use your help in Phase TWO

new siding <------- ! -------> New wall inside the Harris Room

<----------Guys putting in new windows -----> New Windows

Some rotted wood <---- ! ----> new walls and insulation in jewelry room

New Insulation and walls

The Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill is thrilled to announce that they were awarded $83,000 from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund to renovate the interior of the historic antique barn that houses their gallery, classrooms and ceramics studio.

The state Legislature created the Cultural Facilities Fund in July 2006 to support Massachusetts non-profit cultural organizations with building projects that increase tourism, create new jobs, leverage private funding and expand arts and cultural activities in communities across the state. MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, who co-administer the program, received 201 requests for funding totaling $80 million. MCC recruited 28 experts from across the U.S. with experience in tourism, facilities finance, real estate project management, construction, facilities operations, organizational development, grant making and historic renovation and preservation to review and rank the applications using a weighted set of criteria. Sixty-two organizations across Massachusetts were awarded grants totaling $16.7 million. These grants must be matched one-to-one by the awardee with funds from private sources.

The grant from the State builds on the foundation we received from the Town of Truro through the Community Preservation Committee, who awarded Castle Hill $50,000 for Historic Preservation. The application to the CPC was submitted in partnership with the Truro Historical Commission, who will serve as a liaison to the Massachusetts Historical Commission in hopes of establishing the barn’s eligibility for both the State and National Registry of Historic Places. This grant was voted on by the residents of Truro at the town meeting in 2007. Castle Hill was delighted with the overwhelming support of the town and impressed to see that people do care about preserving the architectural treasures in Truro. Castle Hill is an institution with a unique atmosphere in a fragile setting, providing inspiration to hundreds of students each year, and we thank all of the residents of Truro for their support.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! As we continue to find surprises...like squirrels who ate through all of the wires in the Weaving Studio / Jewelry room and rotted wood behind walls from a leaking roof. Your support of any amount would greatly be apprieciated. If you would like a tour of the building please give us a call and we would be happy to give you a tour.

If you are interesting in making a tax deductable donation, please click on our registration page and scroll to the bottom. Thank you so much. HERE

TRURO CENTER FOR THE ARTS RENOVATED
THE CASTLE HILL TOWER - phase one

Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, a unique Outer Cape cultural center, is pleased to announce the launch of a project to renovate the Castle Hill “tower”, the three-story building that houses the organization’s main administrative offices.

The Castle Hill Tower is a unique structure that was built over a hundred years ago, and was at one time a working windmill that provided water to neighboring farms. Today, the tower is used as the Center’s identifying icon. It appears as its logo and adorns the cover of the Center’s most recent catalog; it is featured in advertisements and brochures, and on merchandise including tee-shirts, tote bags, and umbrellas. Most importantly, its history and function has become representative of the school itself, as Castle Hill strives to cultivate the artistic community of Cape Cod. To this end, Castle Hill has sponsored a comprehensive calendar of workshops, exhibitions, lectures, forums, concerts and other activities for the past thirty-five years in order to promote social interaction among artists, craftsman, laymen and the community.

The offices housed in the tower assist the administrative staff of the Center in managing these many programs and events. Unfortunately, conditions on Cape Cod are not always kind to buildings – the combination of the salt air and extreme weather takes its toll, particularly on antique wooden structures. The tower needs significant renovation, including new shingles, insulation and windows. Every effort to maintain the historical detailing of the tower will be made.

Earlier this year, Castle Hill began a campaign to restore the tower, and has successfully raised a substantial amount of the funds needed to start the project, including a significant gift from Andrea and Donald Kline, and funds from the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank Charitable Trust. However, Castle Hill continues to seek contributions to make sure that the tower will stand as a symbol for future generations of artists, to inspire and nourish their talents and skills. Gifts are still being accepted.

Phase 2: Snow’s Barn

The antique barn is one of many outbuildings of the old Snow farm. Built in 1882, the basic 2 ½ story structure has a Federalist appearance in its square, balanced façade topped by a central cupola. The exterior is varied with clapboards, concrete, and shingles which dominate. The shingles are variously painted, weathered, in straight rows and in patterns of the Queen Anne era. Sash windows are 6/6 with plain architraves. A barn door with diagonal boards slides open on an overhead rail. On either side matching 1 ½ story ells with peaked roofs have been added. Each has a small diamond shaped Queen Anne window in the gable. There are concrete basement rooms under these ells. One has a hinged double solid door of diagonal boards. The other a cutaway corner housing steps down to an entrance with double arched doors with 6 lights of decreasing size in each door. These ells have cross gables facing east/west as well as the southern one. The back of the building has two double dormers at the upper level.

Currently, the barn houses a gallery and five studios used for seasonal workshops, each of which holds an average of 15 students. Our ceramics studio was recently winterized to allow a more extended season. As a result, we are now able to offer classes nine months out of the year, whereas before this winterization occurred we were limited to the warm summer season.

Major work needs to be done on the exterior of the barn.
• Re-shingle exterior wall near the big barn door, exterior walls by the back deck, exterior wall below the detail work on the front of the building
• Replace hardware along the bottom track of the barn slider door
• Replace rotted wood on walls in painting studio and Harris Room
• Replace high windows in the painting studio with new windows that open to allow air circulation
• Replace windows in the second floor jewelry room with new windows that open
• Repair and replace roof as needed
• Repair and replace the cupola
• Build painting racks and extend the landing near the second floor photography darkroom to access racks
• Close in fan unit in jewelry room and improve ventilation.

This phase also includes the work necessary for establishing eligibility of the buildings for listing on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, including hiring a consultant to prepare the documentation required for nominating the property to the Historic registers. The Truro Historical Commission will serve as the liaison with the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and will manage the consultant work.

Castle Hill has applied to the Truro Community Preservation Committee to help with the renovations to the exterior of the building. They have recommended their support for this project to the Board of Selectman. The next step is Truro Town Meeting. We hope you support this project for Historical Preservation, especially if you live in Truro!

To contribute to the tower & barn renovation, click on the registration page, scroll to the bottom or call (508) 349-7511.

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© 2010 TRURO CENTER FOR THE ARTS AT CASTLE HILL
10 Meetinghouse Road, P.O. Box 756, Truro, MA 02666
www.castlehill.org | e-mail info@castlehill.org
tel. 508 349-7511 | fax 508 349-7513