Unity Place, Where Spirits Soar!

   Unity Place , located at 201 West Franklin Boulevard, across the street from Gastonia's City Hall, is home not only to a church, but is a hub to the arts in Gaston County. On any given weekday, hundreds of students of all ages stream in and out of classrooms that offer lessons in oil painting, pottery, ballet, voice, and musical instruments from trombone to Celtic fiddle! But on Sunday, other parts of the building are full of worshippers.

The unique center came into being when First Baptist Church sold their historic property to St. Stephen's AME Zion Church and they in turn leased 18,000 square feet to the United Arts Council and their various arts groups. The property included the massive 1020's sanctuary/auditorium with noted acoustic design that seats 735, a smaller chapel and a four-story, 25,000 square foot education building constructed in 1950 .

LAYOUT of UNITY PLACE

Sanctuary/Auditorium

Facing Franklin Boulevard is the massive, beautiful sanctuary which houses St. Stephen's worshippers on Sunday mornings. The sanctuary can also be transformed into an auditorium when needed, by rolling away the church railings. This flexible space has an elevated stage that can hold a 65 piece orchestra or a local jazz ensemble for a concert. The sanctuary is noted for it's excellent acoustical design and can seat up to 735 guests attending a concert.

Dining Hall

Directly underneath the sanctuary is a versatile, large room. This space can serve as meeting, dining or reception space with ample kitchen space for caterers to use.

Chapel

A small chapel bridges the sanctuary and the 4-story education building in the rear. This space offers a smaller space for worship but also hosts many music recitals.

Education Building

This four-story, 25,000 square foot building is home to the arts.

•  In the basement, in addition to Sunday school classes for St. Stephens , during the week, the Chordweavers practice downstairs.

•  On the first floor, are offices for the church, the chapel and the office of the United Arts Council of Gaston County . There is also a large board/meeting room that affiliates of the United Arts Council share. At some point it is hoped that a box office will be established on the first floor near the main entrance to offer citizens a central place to purchase tickets to cultural events offered by the United Arts Council, its affiliates and associates.

•  The second floor is home to Gaston Dance and Gaston Dance Theatre . There are 3 spacious classrooms for instruction, that feature Marley flooring, which while expensive, protects young dancer's joints from injury. Costume, props storage space is also on this floor as well as the business offices of Gaston Dance.

•  On the top floor, are many class/practice rooms belonging to The School of the Arts . Here painting, pottery, drawing, drama, vocal and instrument music lessons are taught to students of all ages. Also, on the top floor is a large rehearsal room used by the 55 member Gaston Choral Society for their weekly practice and also a studio for the Gaston County Art Guild for lessons and meetings.

Parking

For art classes, it is easiest to enter the drive off South Street and drive around the education building. The door under the metal awning is the entrance for art students. For recitals and concerts, spillover parking is located in the City lot across South Street from Unity Place .

History of Unity Place

The opportunity to formulate a central location for the arts came as a result of an invitation from St. Stephen's AME Zion Church , one of Gaston County 's oldest African-American religious communities.   In 1999, St. Stephens purchased the historic church property in downtown Gastonia saving it from certain demolition.   In addition to the 1920's sanctuary, the property includes a 25,000 square foot education building built in 1950.   Under the existing arrangement, the United Arts Council leases approximately 18,000 square feet for use by the Council and eight of its member organizations.   This designated location provides office space, storage space, classroom instruction areas, rehearsal & studio space, meeting space, and in the near future a central box office/information area.  

The United Arts Council had worked for over 20 years to see a central location for the arts realized and quickly recognized that the formation of Unity Place would do much to improve the accessibility and visibility of the arts for its affiliate groups.   In developing this project, each participating group was required to contribute a number of volunteer hours and 'sweat equity'; in addition, each group is being asked to contribute financially a portion of their respective costs in the areas of rent, utilities, janitorial, and security.  

While the 18,000 square feet of space was adequate in scope, certain renovations have been necessary in order to accommodate multiple groups with special needs.  The total cost of the renovation was approximately $307,000 with walls taken out to create large rehearsal spaces, special dance floors installed, sound-proofing added as well as updating the electrical, heating and cooling components of renovation. While raising the money was daunting to some, it proved to be a wise decision as the rental space to art groups and the United Arts Council is less than $3.00 a square foot.

While the Unity Place project was initially about meeting the very practical space needs of both the arts and St. Stephens AME Zion Church in an affordable manner, it has become much more.   Unity Place is housing the artistic, educational, entertainment and spiritual aspects of our community and is serving all citizens of Gaston County , and in particular our children. The mural painted on the exterior of the educational building shows the mission of Unity Place , to enrich our citizens in every season of their life.