Springville Center for the Arts
Springville Center for the Arts is a non-profit community multi-arts center located at Springville in Erie County, New York. It is housed in the historic The Baptist Church of Springville, a historic Baptist church. It was built in 1869, and is a red brick Late Gothic Revival-style church with limestone trim. It features a square corner bell tower.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. Nine years later, some of the additional buildings nearby that had been built for church use were added to the listing.
History
Springville Center for the Arts opened in a store front location in 1998. The organization grew out of the long-standing community theater organization, the Springville Players, after a series of town hall meetings with interested artists and actors. The former Brown's Shoe Store was converted into a black box theater with adjoining gallery and reception space. Initial programming quickly expanded to include youth theater productions, a cinema program, workshops, a writers workshop and concerts.In June 2007, the organization purchased a Baptist church dating to the 1860s. All programming is currently done at an interim setup at the site with extensive exterior restoration and interior renovations planned.