Waterville, Maine —Waterville Creates! is pleased to present Reimagining Castonguay Square, a new exhibition featuring the past, present and future of one of Waterville’s oldest public gathering spaces, opening at Common Street Arts on Monday, January 14, 2019.
Located in the heart of the historic downtown district, Castonguay Square is one of Waterville’s oldest public gathering spaces. Gifted to the city by land deed in 1840, “the commons” was renamed Castonguay Square in 1921 for Arthur L. Castonguay, the first soldier from Waterville to be killed in action in World War I. During this time of significant new investment and transformative change in downtown Waterville, Waterville Creates! is leading a public redesign process for Castonguay Square. Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) with additional support from the City of Waterville and Colby College, the design project involves diverse voices and perspectives in reimagining this important civic space and its role in our community.
This exhibition integrates three-dimensional design concepts created by teams of citizens during a public design charrette held in November 2018. Historic images of Castonguay Square from the Waterville Historical Society will also be included in this exhibition.
Wednesday, January 16 from 5:30 – 7:00pm
Bill + Joan Alfond Main Street Commons at the Chace Community Forum
FREE and Open to the Public
The design team from Beyer Blinder Belle and Mitchell & Associates will present three design options for Castonguay Square. These designs will be based on input provided by community members at the first two charrettes and earlier stakeholder meetings. The goal of this presentation will be to prioritize concepts and design elements within the three options to be combined in a single conceptual design direction. Refreshments will be available beginning at 5:00 pm.
“One of the primary goals of Waterville Creates! is to provide a diverse array of accessible and relevant programming for our community and the Reimagining Castonguay Squareexhibition fits squarely with this mission,” says Patricia King, vice president at Waterville Creates! “This exhibition speaks to the thoughtful collaboration that is taking place within our community during this wonderful moment in Waterville’s history. It’s lovely to see such active participation when thinking about public spaces that we all share.”
The Sterrs Gallery at Common Street Arts is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am – 5:00pm and on Saturday from 12:00 – 5:00pm at the Hathaway Creative Center, 10 Water Street in Waterville. To learn more about the Reimagining Castonguay Square exhibition, visit: http://www.commonstreetarts.org.
About Waterville Creates!
Waterville Creates! is a non-profit on a mission to promote, support, and grow greater Waterville’s arts and cultural scene. Collaborating with regional arts and culture institutions and their supporters, together we are strengthening our community as a vibrant creative center, increasing access to creative opportunities. Learn more athttps://www.watervillecreates.org and learn more about our ongoing community capital campaign for the Downtown Arts Center at http://www.downtownartscenter.org.