Arts center breeds new life for McKees Rocks

In the midst of a community that was forgotten about after the steel mills left town, lies a refurbished, contemporary multi-million dollar building.

Since its opening in October 2008, the Father Ryan Arts Center in McKees Rocks has provided a place for the community to connect through self expression, creativity and imagination.

“We had been planning to build an arts center for about 12 years,” said Father Regis Ryan, who the art center is named after. “The idea came from the people of the community.”

The initial funding for the center was a result of a 1994 federal consent decree in which seven communities in Allegheny County, including McKees Rocks, were awarded money due to discrimination and segregation within low-income public housing plans. The decree stated that 25 percent of the monies from the Community Development Block Grants for Allegheny County would be set aside for at least seven years for the seven communities.

Focus on Renewal, a non-profit focused on improving the social, educational, health and cultural environment of the McKees Rocks community, applied for decree money on behalf of the community’s residents. McKees Rocks was awarded $800,000 and decided to use the funds to create a cultural arts center.

Focus on Renewal used $258,750 of the $800,000 to purchase an 80-year-old abandoned furniture store as the site of the future cultural arts center. The 26,000-square-foot building is located on Chartiers Avenue, right in the heart of the community.

Shortly after the building was purchased in July 2003, Point Park University received a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to partner with a community in need. Point Park approached Focus on Renewal with one goal in mind, to bring the arts to McKees Rocks, supporters said. The Community Outreach Partnership Center was created through Point Park University, Focus on Renewal and the community of McKees Rocks.

“We wanted Point Park to create programming to generate excitement for what the arts center would become,” said Jim Critchfield, programming director for the Father Ryan Arts Center.

Pat Moran, a McKees Rocks native, worked at Point Park as the director of the partnership. She organized groups of college students to teach dancing, singing and acting at afterschool programs for children in the Sto-Rox School District.

“Point Park helped to create infrastructure for the planning and implantation of the arts center,” Critchfield said.

Shawna Reed volunteered with the Community Outreach Partnership Program during the four years she attended Point Park. She taught dance to the children.

“Every day brought new challenges and rewards,” Reed said. “It was a great learning experience.”

In September 2006, construction began to revitalize the old furniture store into a cultural arts epicenter. John E. Baverso volunteered to be the project’s architect after he read an article in the local newspaper about the plans to create the center. Baverso was a former student of Ryan’s at the St. Thomas High School in Braddock.

The efforts to restore the old furniture store took two years to complete and came with a hefty price tag. The original allotment of funds was $500,000. The end price of the arts center was $4.5 million. The additional costs were funded through foundation money and state grants, according to Ryan.

“All of the playbills and literary material during the building process would read ‘in anticipation of a cultural arts center,’” Critchfield said.

After all of the work and renovations, the Father Ryan Cultural Arts Center opened on October 4, 2008. The multi-level building is complete with a 125-seat theater with retractable seats, dance studios, a recording studio, art galleries and classrooms.

The Allegheny Regional Asset District allots a small amount of funds each year for the arts center. Other state and federal grants help fund the day-to-day operations.

Fundraising is also a major part of the arts center. Recently, the Father Ryan Arts Center held a holiday homecoming benefit concert to raise money to purchase a baby grand piano.

“Father Ryan was surprised to hear that we named the cultural center after him,” Critchfield said. Ryan has worked in McKees Rocks with Focus on Renewal for 34 years.

Currently, the Father Ryan Arts Center has classes in dance, drama, literary arts, music, visual arts and health and wellness. While the arts center no longer hosts afterschool programs, much of its work is creating partnerships with local artists and school districts.

The ‘Readers Theater’ program is one of the art center’s most successful outreach initiatives. The 9-week program allows students to visit the Father Ryan Cultural Arts Center and work with professional actors and visual artists. The main objective of the program is to help enhance students’ reading skills. This year, over 500 children from area school districts are scheduled to participate in the ‘Readers Theater’ program.

Over 100 students participate in classes at the Father Ryan Arts Center each semester. The arts center is also used as a community center and rooms can be rented for all occasions.

“The arts center is in a neighborhood that’s in great need,” Critchfield said. “It serves as a beacon of hope for the community.”

By Jamie Inferrera