Creating Bright Center: Local Art

It's easy to lose the feel of Place when having to modernize a building as thoroughly as we had to overhaul the 100-year-old Bright Center. But we were determined to create a place that celebrated the past, while embracing the future. One of the ways we did this was through art.

We took digital photos of some of the most well-known and visually distinctive buildings in town -- the Handley Library, Town Hall, the Fire Hall, Snow White Grill, etc. -- and Mind & Media's graphic artists turned them into 4'x5' canvas paintings, which we framed and mounted in advantageous spots in the common areas throughout the building. We also purchased art from local artists and shops to decorate the foyers and office areas. And we created a wide variety of other Winchester-specific scenes through digital pictures, enhanced in PhotoShop and then blown-up and printed out at local print shops. All this art took into consideration the Bright Center color palette, which came from the purple and gold logo we created.

Three years later, people still walk through the building just to see the paintings and local art, particularly those of their own building or shop. Our staff is proud to have helped create and brand Bright Center, the construction crew is proud of their contribution (more later), and residents seem to be flattered at our unique spotlight on their city. I believe that through embracing Place, it's easier to capture the hearts and minds of those involved in making project's successful, and perhaps that is the central reason for doing it. (Marilyn Finnemore)

Creating Bright Center: Keeping the Past

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of a real Place is its connection to the unique history of the area. As we modernized Bright Center, we went out of our way to keep and showcase as much of the building's past as we could salvage. Much of the building's origins had been stripped away over the years, but we found some jewels.

An old escalator, the first and only escalator in Winchester. It had been hidden by wallboard and turned into a trash collection site over the years, but it was so striking and retro that we converted it into a carpeted stairway (safety laws wouldn't allow us to operate it again). People come by the building all the time who tell us stories of how they use to play on the escalator as kids and how those memories are some of their best from childhood.

A gorgeous old tin ceiling under the hideous drop ceiling. It was in rough shape, but after we repaired it and painted it gold, it was a sight to behold. It's now one of the most distinctive features of Bright Center.

A "time capsule" behind one cement wall where we discovered all kinds of old mementos from Winchester in the 50s -- posters, bottle caps, advertisements, magazines. None of it of much value, but a great delight to the construction crew, most of whom were born and raised in Winchester. We created our own time capsule where we put all those old mementos, to preserve them, as well as a variety of our own, including the architectural plans, hand- written notes from the construction crew, and before and after pictures of the building.

I joked with the crew that the next time the time capsule was discovered, we all might be 90 years old or maybe even dead, but we all delighted in the fact that someone, who might not even be born yet, would discover our stash and have as much fun in their discovery a we had in ours.

Creating Bright Center, Part I

In 2005, my husband and I bought a vast, dilapidated building in the middle of Old Town Winchester. People thought we were crazy, not just because the building needed a lot of work, but because downtown Winchester had struggled economically since Leggetts and JC Penney and the other department stores had gone to the Apple Blossom Mall in the 70s and 80s, leaving the downtown nearly empty.

But Aldo and I had always loved Old Town Winchester -- we often came to visit on weekends, strolling down the pedestrian mall, gazing up at the architecture, enjoying the historical sites, chatting with locals, and eating at one of the little restaurants. Certainly many of the shops were closed and when the sun went behind a cloud, the place seemed shabby, but we felt certain that with some time and TLC, this beautiful downtown would thrive again. And we felt confident that buying and transforming the old Leggett building, which sat in the center of the downtown across from the Courthouse, would help move things along.

We had our hands full. Parts of the building had not been occupied in 30 years and the rest needed serious upgrades. Our goal was to create a place where a high-tech media company from Washington DC would feel at home while still maintaining the connection with historic Winchester . . . the ultimate in blending the old with the new and coming up with something that would inspire others to transform their own buildings and see Winchester as the gem that it is.

The first thing we did was change the name of the building . . . everyone knew it as the old Leggett building, the place where they'd bought their Boy Scout clothes or got their ears pierced when they were a kid (great), the place that left the Old Town for greener pastures (not so great). We changed the name to Bright Center to help people see a bright future rather than an abandoned past, and to create a theme for the building, which we envisioned to be a place full of bright people, colorful shops, energy and creativity.

The name was the beginning of a grand project in creating Place. (Marilyn Finnemore)

Building BRIGHT BOX

It has always been my strong belief that artists are at the center of any vibrant town or city. As a way of demonstrating this belief and helping to create more vibrancy in a place I dearly love, I am spearheading the creation of Bright Box, a dynamic performance place in the center of Old Town Winchester, Virginia. It is scheduled for completion in December 2012.

Located at the heart of Old Town in Bright Center, Bright Box will be carefully designed with the best lighting and sound to ensure that the performances are magical. And we'll have all kinds of performances and entertainment: jazz, comedy, theatre, art-house films, art shows, dances, juggling, anything that the brilliant imagination of local artists and performers can create. Our partners include Shenandoah Arts Council, Shenandoah University, Old Town Development Board, and Winchester Main Street Foundation.

This creative facility will consist of a 2000 square feet black box theatre, plus a beautiful concession/bar area, a ticket office, green rooms, dressing rooms, and rehearsal areas. Our goals: To give the public an intimate viewing experience, to give our local artists a unique venue for displaying their talent, and to create ever-increasing vibrancy in Old Town. Stay tuned for updates on Bright Box!

Bright Cowork: Ultimate Workplace

Recently an innovative, new-media-savvy guy named Corey Brown, COO of Squidoo contacted me about possibly turning a portion of Bright Center into coworking space. His reasoning was this: There are a lot of people out there who are simply tired of working all by themselves and need a fun, collaborative space to do their work at least a few days a week.

A few years ago, the dream of most creatives and professionals was "to work at home" to avoid commuting and to have more control of time. Companies anxious to reduce overhead and attract the best and brightest allowed many of us to do so. For awhile it was great; but after a while, many "hit a wall" and productivity and motivation plummeted. I think our craving for Place is the reason many sought to work from home originally and, ironically, it's why many telecommuters are hitting the wall now. We ran away from the featureless, cubicle-filled no-places to our home offices which typically cannot provide the personal, face-to-face connection to colleagues and coworkers that inspires and energizes.

Bright Cowork will be unlike "telework spaces," which typically are fluorescent-lit, cubicle farms. In the style of Bright Center, it will be open, bright collaborative space with blazing internet connectivity, and great coffee. It will be a place to talk, meet, share, collaborate, grow, and innovate. It will also be affordable to those who only want a desk and shared meeting space rather than the overhead and hassle of a full office. Best of all it will be a real Place that provides the connection to Old Town Winchester and other creatives and professionals who share common interests.

Bright Center: Creating a Face

One of the hallmarks of No Place is the facelessness of the buildings. Buildings that all look exactly alike, one after another -- whether vinyl-sided townhouses, faux-brick fronted McMansions or bland concrete-and-glass commercial buildings -- give me a sense of emptiness and dislocation.

Not originally faceless, the Old Leggett building had obtained faceless status over the years. Three original turn-of-the-century buildings had been combined and the facades stripped away in favor of a giant aluminum, ground-to-rooftop Leggett's sign in the 60s. Later, when the department store moved to the Apple Blossom Mall, the new owners attempted to correct this architectural monstrosity with faux stucco and small plate glass windows, but it didn't really work. When we bought the place, it was an anonymous, shabby, mostly empty white elephant.

One of our first tasks was to give the building a Face, one that would make a unique statement yet be worthy of historic Winchester. We wrangled with the Architectural Review Board, since our color scheme and material choice was slightly at issue, but in the end we were given the green light. Through design elements, we made the building look like three Main Street buildings again. We replaced the small plate-glass windows with higher windows, more reminiscent of old street-front windows and more welcoming. We added copper-topped canopies to protect passersby from the rain and encourage them to stop in. And of course, we added the Bright Center sign to give the place an identity.

As the building was being refaced, we kept it wrapped under a great plastic tent to protect it from the weather. When we were complete, the tent came down to reveal the brilliant gold front to a crowd of locals who had clearly been waiting for months for the moment. There was a collective smile and then spontaneous applause. "It's like we just gave them a giant gift," Jimmy, one of the construction workers, said in wonder. "I've never been so proud in my life."

Encouraging Art Encourages Place

One of the best ways to create a sense of vitality in downtowns is to welcome the arts community with open arms.

To help give our talented artists exposure in downtown Winchester, we recently donated Bright Center's big front display window to the Shenandoah Arts Council for a revolving, ongoing, highly-visible art gallery. This has worked out well for everyone involved: Local artists get increased exposure to their work and the chance to make a little money; Shenandoah Arts Council offers increased value to the community and area artists; Old Town Winchester enhances its brand; and Bright Center's appearance is dramatically improved by turning a formerly empty window into one full of life, color and beauty.

With storefronts sitting empty in this tough market, perhaps now is the time to get imaginative and find ways to revitalize our communities through engaging our local artists. They typically can't pay much, but they can certainly bring in the vitality and beauty that makes towns and cities real Places again.