The Lincoln Street Center is the state’s largest community arts facility, and home to more than 40 working artists’ as well as to one of the oldest theaters in the nation.
Waterfall Arts, a Belfast-based arts nonprofit, has purchased Rockland’s Lincoln Street Center for $1 million.
The center is the state’s largest community arts facility and home to more than 40 working artists.
Built in 1867, the Lincoln Street Center also has one of the nation's oldest theaters. It has been a cultural cornerstone for the Knox County city’s creative community, providing studio space along with cultural programming. It is housed in a 42,000-square-foot former school building at 24 Lincoln St.
“This is about protecting space for artists to work and thrive," said Kim Fleming, executive director of Waterfall Arts. "We know what these buildings make possible, not just for individual artists, but for entire communities."
She underscored that sustaining artists goes well beyond funding projects.
“It means defending the environments that allow their ideas to take root and flourish," she said.
Private donors, led by the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, provided the funding for the acquisition. Other support came from the Lesher Family Foundation and from an anonymous gift via Rockland’s Center for Maine Contemporary Art.
“The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation understood immediately the importance of keeping artists living and working in Rockland to retain the vibrancy of place and enhance the cultural assets of a community,” said Donna McNeil, the foundation's founding executive director.
Waterfall Arts will steward and operate the Lincoln Street Center, which will operate as a complementary facility to the organization’s Belfast campus.
Cultural cornerstone
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in downtown Belfast since 2006, Waterfall Arts is a comprehensive community arts center, serving artists of all ages and experience levels.
The organization hosts exhibitions, adult and youth programming and public events, and houses 15 private studios with 17 working artists in the former Governor Anderson School building at 256 High St.
“Strong communities are built on accessible creative space and the vibrancy of cultural institutions,” said Rockland City Manager Tom Luttrell.
“We are grateful to the Ellis Beauregard Foundation and the generous donors whose leadership made this possible, and welcome Waterfall Arts’ long-term commitment to preserving working artists in our city and strengthening the future of Lincoln Street Center for generations to come," he added.
Next steps
An advisory council will guide long-term strategic planning at the Lincoln Street Center, and Waterfall Arts plans to share its vision with the midcoast community in the coming months.
Waterfall Arts recently received an honorable mention in the
Mainebiz Community Impact Awards for its 25th anniversary fundraising campaign.
