Venue - Franklin Park Performing Arts Center
The Franklin Park Arts Center is a dream come true for Loudoun Artists and patrons. Its concept, construction and ultimate realization is a story ten years in the making, requiring the dedicated efforts of community leaders, thousands of volunteers and ultimately requiring the approval of Loudoun County voters.
In January 1997, a local theater group received permission to raise the funds necessary to convert a 19th century dairy barn located on the Franklin farm property, newly purchased by Loudoun County to become Franklin Park, into a space to hold theatrical rehearsals and productions. Just as the fundraising effort is about to begin, the barn burns to the ground- the result of local boys playing with matches inside the barn. After the fire is extinguished the only recognizable traces of the barn are its silo and a length of stone foundation wall.
Undeterred by the devastating fire, in August 1997, a group of artists and community leaders extend their vision and organize themselves into The Barns at Franklin Park, Incorporated with the dream of building Loudoun’s first dedicated performing and visual arts center on the site of the destroyed barn. To help jump-start the community effort a Design Charette’ process begins; arts organizations throughout Loudoun County provide input on the proposed Arts Center. The volunteer board of Barns at Franklin Park, Inc. begins community outreach and fundraising, featuring membership drives, special events and brick and seat sales. Original start-up funds also include the use the insurance money from the destroyed barn, approved for use by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.
On Labor Day Weekend in September, 1998, The Timber Framers Guild of North America, managed by the Blue Ridge Timberwrights and thousands of volunteers raised the new barn frame in Franklin Park. The timbers came from around the country; some were recycled from dismantled bridges, the longest timbers were found in the St. Lawrence Seaway- recycled from their original use as ‘bumpers’ for logging runs decades earlier.
Over the next 6 years the project continued to grow- a solar array was added to the scope of the project, the Arts Center project was under roof with basic flooring and partitions roughed-in and the County of Loudoun approved and hired staff for the facility under the Parks Division of Loudoun County’s Department of Parks Recreation and Community Services. The staff temporarily moved into the old Round Hill Elementary School and began programming.