From the Conway Daily Sun ~

2007-01-17

Salyards poised to become sanctuary for arts

Conway Historical Society plans to renovate former church

David Carkhuff

CONWAY — Conway Historical Society plans to renovate the Salyards Center for the Arts, transforming the former St. Charles Catholic Church into a performing arts hub in Conway Village.
In October 2001 the St. Charles Catholic Church on Main Street in Conway Village was purchased for use as the Salyards Art Center. Now, the historical society is preparing to transform the old church sanctuary into a large space with a stage, an exhibit area and an auditorium for performances.
The floor below will be transformed into space for meetings, workshops and performances.
"The building has been open for use by the community ... but they're really trying to upgrade the look of it, the functionality of it," explained consultant Cindy Russell, who was hired into the part-time position of managing director of Salyards Center for the Arts. "The facility committee, which is part of the Conway Historical Society, is trying to make the building a center for the visual and performing arts in a way that makes both of those pieces of art affordable to residents of the area."
Salyards Art Center is named for Florence McBride Salyards, whose husband, Capt. Justin Salyards, made a major bequest in her name to the historical society.
"There have been endowments made through the Conway Historical Society, the interest of which permits them to maintain the building for heat and light," Russell explained. "They're going to take a chunk of that to step out and fund the renovation immediately."
The historical society hopes to replace the funding used for renovations so the endowments can be built back up to their original amount, Russell said.
"This is one of those projects that is a dream, and it's going to happen because the funds are there," she noted.
Conway Historical Society President Ken Rancourt agreed the society has benefited from the generosity of benefactors.
"Captain Salyards were very generous to Conway Historical Society, and the Dahl sisters have contributed, and many members have donated over the years," he said.
Engineering and design options have been reviewed.
"We have been working for a number of months with the offices of Shawn Bergeron, and we have reviewed all sorts of options with his office, and Kim Frechette is helping us design the interior of the building to best serve the visual and performing arts," Rancourt said.
"We're looking on the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars," he said.
The society's plans call for reworking entrances and exits so they're accessible at both levels.
"The building is already almost 40 years old. I guess the beauty of it is it's very adaptable," Rancourt said of the building. "The major improvements are going to be in the heating and ventilation and handicapped-accessible bathrooms on both levels. Those are major improvements."
The board is interested in making the refurbished facility available at reasonable cost to the community. Meanwhile, the main floor auditorium should attract a variety of performances.
"It should be able to comfortably seat at least 200 people when done and also be a meeting center in Conway," Rancourt noted.
"We have full confidence that Cindy will meet and exceed all of our expectations," he said.
Russell said she will maintain her relationship with Arts Jubilee, White Mountain Musical Arts, which presents chamber concerts, and the Bach Festival. Recently, she has stepped down from overseeing New Year's Festival and Fourth of July festivities in Conway
Conway Historical Society welcomes contributions, sent attention Salyards Center for the Arts fund, Conway Historical Society, P.O. Box 1949, Conway NH 03818.