With community help, Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts moves to a new home
- Amy Feiereisel
- Jun 22
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 30
View the full article here
A mainstay arts organization in the Adirondacks got a new home this spring.
The Adirondack Lake Center for the Arts (ALCA), in Blue Mountain Lake, is the oldest arts and cultural institution in the Adirondacks.
It’s been around in an old garage on the main drag in Blue Mountain Lake since 1967. It presents concerts, professional theater, and art exhibits in the heart of the Adirondacks.
It recently moved to a new location less than half a mile away: the former Potters Resort, with a spectacular view of the lake.
ALCA will hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony this Saturday, June 28th; the day's events include the return of the Blue Mountain Lake No-Octane Regatta, and several musical performances.
The move opens a lot of doors for the organization’s future. Amy Feiereisel spoke with General Director Jean-Marie Donohue about the big transition. Their interview has been edited for clarity.
JEAN-MARIE DONOHUE: The old building is beloved by the community and it has seen some great programming, it saw some terrific upgrades overtime, but it also has seen some decay. We'd gone through a few different proposals before I got to AlCA. I've been here for three years. And there were building plans to renovate the old building in 2018. COVID hit, so that never happened. And when I started, we revisited those plans. Simultaneously, I went to breakfast with a board member, Francie Armstrong, and we were talking about the building. And she said, 'What about Potters Resort?' She talked to a few board members about it, and it took off.
This also was a fiscal decision. The board did go through knowing that the community loved the building, thinking about possible renovations or possibly having to knock it down, but that would have cost a lot more money than purchasing Potters [Resort], so this was also the fiscally right decision. It really was magic.
AMY FEIEREISEL: Can you actually like visually take us through the new home of the Adirondack Lake Center for the Arts?
DONOHUE: The former Potters Resort had a fire in the early 1900s and it was redesigned by the architect Robert Graham. Some people would call it a Swiss chalet look, but it also has the classic [Adirondack] pine architectural elements. When you walk in, there's a lobby with a fireplace. And to the left there is a reception area. Then you go to the right and there's an open area, which is the performance space, which has a great cathedral ceiling. We also have another covered back deck. That deck can function for our creative workshops for adults and children.
We have three cabins on the lake and one to the side that runs along a brook. Previously we had to rent housing for artists, because sometimes we bring in artists for our programs. So this was ideal for us because we also could potentially have an artist-in-residence now. Also, if you've ever been in Blue [Mountain Lake] and if you've been at the intersection between Route 28 and Route 30, it is a spectacular view of Blue Mountain Lake and the mountains.
FEIEREISEL: How is the space working for you so far?
DONOHUE: The space is phenomenal. It's like a life change for all of us, it’s hard to explain it! A big change for us is our big fundraiser, the Great Arts Benefit, which typically is in August, we would have it at other great camps. We're going to have it here this year. Our last one was at Great Camp Pine Knot and we had to bring everything over by boat. So this is going to be great having it here in this phenomenal space!
It's like a rejuvenation as well as something wonderful for the local and regional community, because we're now in the epicenter of Blue Mountain Lake. Even though we're a hamlet of Indian Lake and we're in a very rural community, every institution in Hamilton County is very important to the residents. We didn't hire a mover. We had the community come and help us move and pack.
FEIEREISEL: Well, tell me more about that!
DONOHUE: People came with their trailers and trucks and we moved for three days. A lot of it was ad hoc and just happened. Like we had someone there said, "Hey, you don't have to hire anyone to move the copier. I'll move it!" And then we had volunteers helping us set up to three weeks after that and we opened on time.
FEIEREISEL: So it obviously took a lot of different people and different organizations to make this happen, both physically and financially. You guys got a Smart Growth Grant from the New York State DEC, gifts from Stewarts, the Charles R Wood Foundation, Cloudsplitter, the Adirondack Fund. And a lot from the community. Can you tell me a little more about that funding journey?
DONOHUE: I'd have to say having those institutions and foundations help us propelled the community to come together, and it was very grassroots. We had board members, we had the West Bay Fund helping us, calling people. There's no way one individual could have done this. It came down to the wire, if we were going to be able to purchase this!
FEIEREISEL: OK. So yeah, like a long and complicated road into a really beautiful space that you're in now. And you sort of officially moved in and opened your doors for the season in that space in May. Can you talk to me a little bit about what's coming up on June 28th?
DONOHUE: Right! We have a ribbon cutting at noon. It really is a community centered event. We'd love for the community to come and see the space if they have not come in already. We also have brought back the No Octane Regatta, which used to happen in Blue Mountain Lake years ago. So that's no gas boats. And we also have Bob Stump who is also beloved by the community. He's going to be here singing and playing his guitar from 11:30 till, you know maybe 4:00 o’clock.
And then we have a concert that evening, one of our classical concerts, and that is at 7:30PM. And that is Schwartz and Bernacchi, a cello and piano duo. So we're really, it's a big day for us, we packed a lot in! But we wanted to come in and, you know, show the community, this is who we are. This is your space. It's your Art Center. You're the people that kept it going all those years and we'd love for you to engage with us again or keep engaging with us.
Visit ncpr to read the full article and listen to the interview.
