MEF’s Recent Organizational Growth
Since MEF was founded in 1991, the organization has
maintained its offices (in its second floor suites on Center Street), in
Northampton despite several expansions over the past decade. Most recently, in response to an increased
demand for its educational resources, MEF’s staff has doubled in size, and the
organization’s production and editing facilities have also expanded over the
past year. While this organizational
growth has created stability and allowed MEF to increase its services and
productivity, it also led MEF to consider acquiring a permanent facility that
would better accommodate the staff, by providing adequate and better-designed
workspace.
In July 2001, MEF placed the winning bid on the historic
Masonic Street Firehouse property, in Northampton, MA. (Currently, MEF staff can see the Firehouse
from our office windows).
MEF plans to purchase the Firehouse in the spring of 2002
and restore its physical structure and architectural distinctiveness, as well
as its significance to the community; transforming what is now a blighted
building into two floors of community, cultural and office spaces. Currently, MEF’s twenty staff members, as
well as its production, editing and distribution facilities are all located in
three office suites (approximately 2,800 sq. ft.) The Firehouse measures 9,500 sq. ft. and will offer MEF the
ability to configure and design this larger space to meet the specific needs of
MEF and the community.
By relocating its facilities to the Firehouse, MEF can
maintain its downtown location and still acquire a significant amount of office
space to accommodate recent organizational growth and its expanded internship
program.
In an effort to make the Firehouse a multi-use building and community resource, MEF also plans to lease out a street-front portion of the ground level and is currently seeking a long term tenant. Email firehouse@mediaed.org with inquiries on the rental space.
Firehouse History
Since 1872, the Masonic Street Firehouse has held a central
place in Northampton’s history. William
Fenno Pratt—a local architect responsible for Northampton’s unique architecture
and known for his wide repertoire of designs, constructed the Masonic Street
Firehouse to provide a permanent home for the local fire company. Although the building has undergone
alterations and enlargement since 1872, it has retained its distinctive
features: two towers (one of which was used to dry the fire hoses) several
large garage bays built to house the fire engines, and a patterned cornice that
frames the front façade.
MEF + Community:
Working with Thomas Douglas, another renowned local
architect, MEF plans to renovate the Firehouse to reference the building’s
history and meet the modern needs of MEF and the local community.
To fulfill both the local community’s need for affordable
and handicap-accessible community meeting spaces, and MEF’s need for an
in-house screening room, MEF will construct a multipurpose meeting room on the
ground level that will be outfitted with cutting-edge technology for meeting,
educational and multi-media screening purposes.
This meeting room will also enable MEF to expand its
educational services to include
on-site violence prevention and media literacy trainings for
educators, law enforcement, and social workers from the local region, and
across the country.
Ultimately, the renovation of this historic building will
not only allow MEF to continue to grow and give back to its community, but it
will also result in added vitality to the core of downtown Northampton.
Donations for the Restoration and Re-Use of the Historic
Masonic Street Firehouse.
To purchase
and renovate the Masonic Street Firehouse is a considerable undertaking for a
non-profit organization of our size.
MEF is working with local banks, private foundations, as well as
individuals to move this project forward.
However,
the date on which we will proceed with the renovations is partly dependent upon
the support we receive from allies and supporters in the local community and
beyond. MEF welcomes financial donations, both large
and small to assist us in this restoration and re-use project—that will
ultimately benefit the Northampton and Five-College communities.
Please
check MEF’s website periodically, as a webpage dedicated to the Firehouse will
be added in the coming weeks—providing more detail on the project, the Firehouse
and its historical significance, designs and fundraising efforts.
In the
meantime, a brochure is available, providing background on the project and the
organization’s need for community support.
Contact Talitha Abramsen (contact information below) to receive a copy
of the brochure.
If you are
interested in making a donation to MEF to support our plans to restore and
re-use the historic Masonic Street Firehouse, please contact:
Barbara
Murphy Malinak
Financial
Manager
Barbara@mediaed.org
Talitha
Abramsen
Fund
Development Assistant
Talitha@mediaed.org
Media
Education Foundation
26 Center
Street
Northampton,
MA 01060
Tel.
413-584-8500/800-897-0089
Fax.
413-586-8398/800-659-6882
