Old Building, New Look

Please join the Athens Clarke Heritage Foundation’s Athenaeum Club for a tour of the Urban Sanctuary and Spa on Thursday, May 27, 2010, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. During the tour, you can see and learn more about the historical building.

The Urban Sanctuary and Spa, located at the intersection of Chase Street and Boulevard in Athens, was renovated recently to its current state after becoming run down from disuse. The building, which houses the spa, was built in the 1930s as a Sunday school annex for the Young Harris Memorial Methodist Church (presently located on Prince Avenue). Chris Peterson, board member of the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art, bought the building after the exterior had been improved and continued to work on the interior renovations.

With a changing history, this building makes for an interesting landmark in Athens’ timeline. Plan to meet at the main entrance a little before 6:30 pm; from there, the tour will go throughout the building, with Peterson in attendance to answer any questions. Happy-hour drinks will be provided following the tour.

Please RSVP to the event by emailing athenaeumclub@gmail.com. The event is free to ACHF members/ $10 for non-members. Call Jan Levinson at 706.542.5788 for more information.

Renovations

The New York Times has a great article on the renovation and reopening of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Charles Engelhart Court in its American Wing, due to reopen on May 19. The amount of art (sculptures) in the court has been dramatically increased, decorative arts objects and American jewelry have been incorporated in cases, interiors have been reordered to create a narrative and both fiber optic lighting and touch screens have been installed, although the latter have been designed to make visitors continue to look at the art itself rather than just at the screen, which is a touch we particularly like. The accompanying slideshow illustrates many of the points the article makes.