If you’re one of hundreds of folks who either attend classes at the Yocum Institute for Arts Education or have children enrolled there, it would be wise to take on an additional lesson at the institution’s new digs at 3000 Penn Avenue in Spring Township.
Taking that lesson is as simple as checking out the interior and exterior details and immersing yourself in the exquisite repurposing of what just 18 months ago was a derelict Art Deco-era factory building.
The rescue and adaptive reuse of the building was a journey Susan Rohn, executive director since 2004, will likely not soon forget.
It started in 2015 when Rohn, following a local published account of the Institute’s 80th anniversary, fielded a phone call from a local commercial real estate agent. Knowing the Institute was outgrowing the Belmont Avenue, Wyomissing borough, site it had occupied since 1941, he suggested the old Howard Hosiery Company building could be just the right platform for expansion.
Though three potential buyers were in the wings, Rohn was encouraged to check it out.
A Good Look
“I brought Mr. Yocum here,” she says. (Philanthropist James H. Yocum has long been a major donor, and in 2009 the organization was renamed in his honor.) “I thought that would be the acid test. We looked through the cracked window and the place looked terrible.” Part of the ceiling had caved in and the interior appeared a disaster.
“He [Mr. Yocum] smiled and said: ‘This is excellent. People will see you now so it’ll be easier to get to, and it’s all on one floor.’”
Reading-based architect Louis Masciotti was engaged to draw up some plans. Another year passed with little movement on acquisition.
By June 2017, the 40,000-square-foot building was on the auction block. Yocum set the sum he was willing to pay. When the bidding exceeded that, Rohn’s heart sank. But that was only momentary.
Local philanthropist Margaret Schumo was also at the auction. The highest bidder was out of luck when she raised her hand and offered $750,000.
“She really helped us secure this building,” Rohn says.
Settlement occurred July 28, 2017. One year later – after a total investment of $3.5 million – the new Yocum Institute was opened and is now a beehive of ever-increasing activity.
Addition to the Avenue
The revamped building is an enviable addition to the revitalization of the Penn Avenue corridor in Spring Township and in nearby Sinking Spring Borough. ADA compliant in ways the former elementary school on Belmont Avenue could never be, the Institute’s new home paves the way for expanding its many course offerings, including those for senior citizens.
Masciotti’s original blueprints were adjusted to reflect the needs of the Institute as well as the requirements of Spring Township building codes. And, of course, during construction surprise discoveries increased projected costs. A case in point: after some floors were laid, buckling occurred. What they revealed was a high moisture content caused by the long-leaking roof. Some extra sealing and $42,000 later, the problem was solved, says Rohn.
Still, the building’s scope and the architectural alterations Masciotti rendered have created a state-of-the-art arts facility.
Chief among those changes was the creation of the aptly named Schumo Theatre.
Center Stage…
“We wanted to establish a black box theater where we would have multiple arts with more of a performance focus,” says Rohn. “There is no other black box theatre in Berks.”
The 25-by-55-foot theatre, which has a capacity of 220, can be configured in many fashions to accommodate a variety of performance genres. A portable platform can provide a raised stage, a large air return ensures the space is quiet, the no-light-spill doors are critical to uninterrupted patron attention, and an adjacent janitor’s closet provides handy and essential storage.
Another bonus: a separate entrance along the Penn Avenue frontage can be used for performances.
The new facility boasts, just on the first floor in addition to the theatre, three visual arts studios, a rehearsal space, an acting studio, dressing rooms, costume storage complete with a much-needed washer and dryer, five music studios, an instruction studio, a music wing with five studios, a media lab, and administrative offices.
Beverly Houck, artistic director, says the acting studio can be entirely blacked out and a green screen will be acquired to accommodate the needs of film students.
Upon entering the updated music wing, there is a tender reminder of one of Berks’ great musicians: an autographed poster of the late Frankie Scott, saxophone in hand, offering real-life inspiration to students.
The music studios are also home to some pretty amazing instruments, chief among them a 1930s-era Steinway grand piano donated when a local family was downsizing. A local real estate agent made the connection between the donor and the Institute.
Artful Outreaches
An estimated 25,000 lives now intersect yearly with the Institute through private instruction, onsite classes, exhibits, productions, arts summer camps and outreach programs. That number is up dramatically from the 8,000 believed to be reached annually a decade ago.
There is a strong focus on local youth and the belief that opportunities provided for artistic expression will impact their own development as well as the community’s present and future.
Among the Institute’s outreach partners are the Reading and Wilson school districts, Olivet Boys and Girls Clubs, Alvernia University’s South Reading Youth Initiative, the Berks County Parks and Recreation Department, John Paul II Center for Special Learning, the Berks County Mental Health Agency, Miller Center for the Arts, Ready. Set. Read! and the Caron Foundation.
Thirteen years ago, in response to a challenge grant, the Institute started the “Learning Through the Arts” campaign. Funds raised went to the research and development of Primary Stages, a theater program for children’s productions and arts education.
Subsequently, Primary Stages partnered with the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis. Through that partnership, it became one of 13 in the U.S. to offer Neighborhood Bridges, a program tied into traditional academic curriculum to build literacy through theater arts.
Houck, who coordinates outside programs, including many with Berks parks, says it is critical to the Institute’s mission of enriching the region through arts education – including performances – to reach out beyond its walls.
A Kid’s Art World
The Institute has been operating its state-licensed preschool for 45 years with a goal of melding exposure to the arts with education basics in order to enhance a child’s learning capabilities. It includes curriculum for ages two through four and for kindergarteners.
The classes are small so the children receive a good deal of attention, says Rohn. For example, in the 2-year-old enrichment class, the maximum is 12 pupils. Academic teachers and art specialists collaborate, employing traditional instruction with opportunities to use art media, materials and concepts to communicate ideas and feelings, as well as to stretch the child’s imagination.
The preschool is essentially a separate wing of the structure. A secure entrance excludes unauthorized persons and all interior doors that connect the main part of the institute with the preschool remain locked for the children’s safety. A dance studio for the preschool can only be accessed by authorized personnel.
The children are also able to enjoy secure outdoor activity, some of it partially protected from the elements. Rohn and Houck note that virtually all the playground equipment, including the costly rubber surface tiles, were moved from the previous site.
Room to Grow
All totaled, the Institute occupies about three-quarters of the available first-floor square footage of the building.
A 3,000-square-foot space with its own entrance adjacent to the spacious parking area will likely be a rental, and Rohn readily admits she savors an eatery as a complement to the Institute.
Light spills into the lobby — subtly done in hues of gray, beige and white — courtesy of the nearly floor-to-ceiling original arched windows refitted with insulated clear glass. A benefit of the north-facing building is that Masciotti found no need for sun control in either the lobby or the adjacent gallery area. And the large windows allow passing pedestrians and motorists a view to the activity there.
Another north-facing benefit was the light that floods into art studios through the reglazed, insulated, “saw-tooth” roof windows.
“Vermeer painted with the north light,” says Rohn, wistfully referring to 17th-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life.
The top-of-the-wall march of the windows also offers natural light to some dance studios.
Homage to the building’s origins include maintaining the original masonry with terra-cotta trim and accents, as well as the terra-cotta plaque with the name of the original owner, the Howard Hosiery Company.
In its new location, the Institute has the ability to expand beyond the expansive first floor.
On the 10,000-square-foot lower level there is a conference/board room with a separate entrance (that will be made available to other entities); a kiln; substantial storage for sets, equipment for the Institute and its preschool; a garage area; and a woodshop.
Masciotti’s plans and the work done by Reading-based Burkey Construction have created a welcoming environment – even before entering the renovated structure.
Simple but thoughtful greening of the 2.46-acre property softens both the building and the 90-vehicle parking lot frontage east of it along Penn Avenue. That includes a landscaped screen of shrubbery and trees as well as a hardscape of new curbing, a six-foot-wide grassy strip, and a five-foot-wide sidewalk that runs the length of the building. All this was done in compliance with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation standards, as Penn Avenue, a.k.a. Business Route 422, is a state road.
Connecting the Years
While the location is new and the trees are only saplings, the roots of the Institute run deep in Berks. It was established in 1934 by Chester Wittell as the Wyomissing Institute of Fine Arts at 824 Penn Avenue in the borough.
At the time, it had just three music students.
Lila Lerch, its first managing director, grew the Institute to more than 300 students and expanded its offerings to include music, dance, theater and visual art instruction. In 1941, it moved to the Belmont Avenue building, a three-story former grade school.
But, says Rohn, the purpose of the Institute has remained consistent through its locations and its growth.
“When you look at us, we’re education-focused,” she says. “There is no other arts institution like us. This is our mission – education in and through the arts.”
Yocum Institute for Arts Education
3000 Penn Avenue, West Lawn
610.376.1576
