St. Lawrence Arts

St. Lawrence Arts is owned and operated by the Friends of the St. Lawrence Church, a tax exempt organization created in 1996 to restore the historic building for use as an affordable and accessible performing arts center. While offering programs to benefit the community at large, we are simultaneously rehabilitating a local and national landmark for adaptive re-use. The St. Lawrence Church was built in 1897 by its congregation who lived in the neighborhood blocks surrounding the building, creating a place for community involvement that was listed as a national landmark in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and as a local landmark by the City of Portland in 1990. The city of Portland nearly condemned the building until the Friends of the St. Lawrence Church purchased the structure in 1997. The 110-seat Parish Hall Theater has been serving the artistic community since May 2001. St. Lawrence Arts takes up an entire block in the middle of the dense, residential neighborhood of Munjoy Hill in Portland. Many of today?s patrons still come from Munjoy Hill and walk to performances and local activities like meetings, civic workshops.

Though the St. Lawrence restoration began in 1996 primarily as a historic preservation and neighborhood improvement project, it quickly developed into a catalyst for the grass roots arts and cultural activities that represent the backbone of the organization today. We continue to raise awareness of the arts as a foundation for building community. Our programs link Munjoy Hill neighbors to greater Portland audiences through song, art, theater and dance. Everyone who visits the St. Lawrence is touched in some way and inspired and encouraged to give back. We welcome visitors, volunteers and professional participation in the restoration process and believe that such active stewardship promotes community pride.