EASTHAMPTON – The conversion of the second floor of the Old Town Hall into a flexible, accessible 350-seat performance arts and community space is expected to officially begin sometime at the end of 2022.

In the meantime, CitySpace, the nonprofit organization that continues to maintain the Old Town Hall building as a center for the arts, is continuing to raise funds through various donations so they can reach their goal of $6.9 million for the entire second floor project. One way in which residents can help donate to the project is through the Take a Seat campaign, which has been an integral component of resident connectivity, and bridging the gap between past, present, and the future of Easthampton generations.

According to CitySpace President Burns Maxey, the Take a Seat campaign invites people to sponsor one or more chairs in support of the second-floor space. When they do, residents can choose who or what they would like to pay tribute to on the back plaque of the chair. Residents can commemorate a loved one, an artist, an anniversary, a birthday, an idea or they can include their own name on the back of the plaque.

“Over 80 chairs have been sponsored [so far],” said Maxey, as of press time. “Some have been sponsored by individual donors while others, groups of two to 25 people, have pooled together for one chair for their collective, business, organization or honor of someone they would like to remember.” The plaques, according to Maxey, have varied from tributes to pets, parents, businesses and actors.

Just a few weeks ago, Casey Douglass, owner of Galaxy restaurant, sponsored 10 chairs in honor of his employees who stuck with him throughout the course of the pandemic. “It's such a moving gesture especially in consideration for those who have been working within the restaurant industry during these unprecedented times,” said Maxey, regarding the donation.

According to Douglass, he and Maxey were thinking of various ways to raise funds for the Old Town Hall, but they could not put anything together due to the threat of the pandemic. Maxey instead asked Douglass if he wanted to sponsor some chairs, which he did.

“My staff came to work, and they deserve a lot of credit,” said Douglass, who added Galaxy lost a third of its employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “[Sponsored seats] are a way to honor them and show appreciation.”

Douglass told Reminder Publishing that his dedicated staff would repeatedly tell him they would rather stay and work for him than stay at home and do nothing. Of course, like any other restaurant, Galaxy had to deal with its own tribulations. Douglass noted how Galaxy had to resort to takeout dining during the height of the pandemic and reduce their hours. He would also send his employees home with enough food for the week so the restaurant could offset the financial hit, and so his employees could avoid supermarkets.

“We were very busy during that period, but we became tighter as a group,” said Douglass, who added that the most difficult part about the whole pandemic is the fact that they have had to pivot as a business every couple of months. They are now back to indoor and outdoor dining on Wednesday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. for the time being, but they may need to pivot back to takeout if cases do not decrease sufficiently. According to their website, takeout is still available on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

With the delta variant continuing to cause problems, and the fact that Galaxy has grown as an isolated restaurant on Main Street, Douglass said that the renovations of the Old Town Hall’s second floor will be key for foot traffic.

“It’s my retirement,” said Douglass, regarding the importance of Old Town Hall. “If it brings 200 to 300 people a week, they’re going to go here.”

The Take a Seat campaign is also being used to remember past generations of the city. For example, Easthampton resident and CitySpace volunteer Marjory Zaik, sponsored a chair to honor her parents, who both worked in Easthampton during her childhood from the 1960s to 1980s when Easthampton was still considered a town.

Her mother, Helen Zaik, worked at Easthampton High School as the guidance department secretary. Her father, Chester Zaik, worked as Easthampton’s assessor for those years. His office was on the first floor of the Old Town Hall in what is now a gallery space for Easthampton City Arts. “I enjoyed occasionally visiting him there on my way home from school,” said Marjory.

After living in Easthampton and graduating from Smith College, Marjory moved to New York City for 33 years. She moved back to Easthampton in 2014 to live with her father and take care of him.

“When I now find myself in Old Town Hall, it is a nostalgic portal to the past for me, as well as a beacon for the future of the performing arts in our city,” said Marjory. “It means a great deal to me to be commemorating my parents, who gave so much of their time and energy to Easthampton for so long, with the sponsorship of a chair in this historic and important space.”

For more information on how to sponsor a seat, residents can visit https://www.cityspaceeasthampton.org/take-a-seat/. According to Maxey, CitySpace plans on wrapping up the campaign by the end of 2022, so people can pay in monthly increments to reach $500. Other groups, like Cottage Street Studios, have come together to donate a chair.