Allens Lane Art Center
Located at the intersection of Allens Lane and McCallum Str., the Allens Lane Art Center (ALAC) has been a community art center and gathering place since 1953. The facility is housed in a stone carriage house dating from the late nineteenth century and the surrounding grounds provide tennis and basketball courts for park users.
In 2007, ALAC entered into a long term lease with the Trust which provided long term control and financial incentives for the organization. Recipient of over $1,000,000 in a Capitol Redevelopment Assistance grant from the State of PA, ALAC used the value of their long term lease to qualify for funding. The improvements to the building included a new roof, HVAC system, flooring, lighting, windows and ADA compliant bathrooms, these improvements provide an upgraded facility for the diverse programming occurring on site.
ALAC offers art, dance, sculpture, and ceramics classes and a very popular summer art camp. As if those were not enough creative outlets for one organization, ALAC also contains a stage with a renowned theater group performing several plays every year. The services provided by Allen’s Lane Art Center combined with the creative reuse of an historic park property certainly provide an excellent and creative example of adaptive reuse.
