“It shows that there was a need to jump start the arts downtown,” she said. “The interest to be downtown is growing stronger and I think we helped generate that.”
The center, which rents space to artists to showcase their work, has drawn many outside the city to downtown, said Bill Triick, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton.
“This city didn’t have — until a couple of years ago — a recognizable future.
“Now there is a recognizable future,” Triick said. The Pendleton and downtown are “not going to drive the whole city, but it’s going to drive this portion of the city. People now have confidence and they know it’s going to get better.”
The center — founded by Jim Verdin, president of Cincinnati-based Verdin Bells and Clocks — was the first significant development in years. The Pendleton chain, which includes Cincinnati, Kentucky and Indiana, and media coverage created a newfound buzz for downtown.
While there’s some debate if the center, 1105 Central Ave., was the force that restarted the area’s economic development, most agree the center has been an asset.
“I think that the fact the Pendleton Art Centers have been successful,” Sizer said. “So when we came in, there was plenty of excitement about it, and we filled up right away.”
The center will celebrate its first anniversary Friday during a First Friday event that was started by the Pendleton last year to drive people downtown.
Engine for change
First Friday is a development tool for businesses, said Linda Moorman, co-owner of BeauVerre Stained Glass, which is adjacent to the arts center. The Pendleton has “brought a new flare to the city for people to enjoy the art” and accentuates the city’s rich arts history, said Moorman, who also is the president of the Middletown Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“It’s been a great complement and kind of a driver to get people here,” said Moorman, whose husband, Jay, was instrumental in bringing the Pendleton to downtown. “We want those outside dollars to come into Middletown and be here buying.”
Art Avenue owner Phillip Harrison said First Fridays bring scores of people through his shop above BeauVerre. But if First Fridays don’t bring in immediate sales, they do bring returning visitors to his shop that makes custom frames and sells art on consignment. However, Harrison wants to see development efforts beyond First Fridays.
“There’s a lack of traffic in the downtown area in terms of people being down here, but at least one night a month, that changes,” Harrison said. “The energy is about our expectations more than it is about actual people downtown. We still have a long way to go before we see exciting things on a day-to-day basis.
“Things are moving along, but they are not where they really need to be, and that’s just going to take some time,” he said.
Developing culture
With the Middletown Arts Center, which offers arts classes, workshops, exhibits, MiddFest International, the symphony and theater, Middletown is rich in culture — and that is “so important” for any community, said Martine Meredith Collier, president and CEO of Culture Works, an advocacy and service organization that supports arts and culture in the Miami Valley area.
“The arts and culture, the whole cultural mix, the history center, the parks and recreation, they all really work together,” Collier said. “What’s nationally being focused is the place making and what’s really makes your community one of a kind. More and more, every place is starting to look like any place and people want to live someplace special.”
“Cultural identity” and opportunities for self-expression make a community special, Collier said.
“It just makes it a lively community, a vibrant community, and is more likely to attract investment, more people moving in, and new companies as well.”
Triick said the Pendleton Arts Center’s importance often is underestimated.
“The things that they do attract people from beyond Middletown,” Triick said. “It’s one thing to be a destination zone where people can buy and like walking through a museum, but obviously it’s a great business opportunity for artists to have a work space, as well as showing their work.
Working with others
The art center is just one piece of the puzzle to give downtown a consistent vibrancy. Cincinnati State Technical & Community College is another piece.
“We’re very excited and are looking forward to a relationship with the Pendleton,” said Jean Manning, Cincinnati State spokeswoman. “(Cincinnati State President) Dr. (O’dell) Owens had said it would be great to even be able exhibit some of the art from the Pendleton Art Center in the Cincinnati State lobby, so folks can see it there.”
Manning said the school’s associated arts program would have a reason to work with the Pendleton and the arts community.
“We’re looking forward to having a very good community relationship,” she said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or michael.pitman@coxinc.com. Follow at
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