The Old Theater's New Roof & Accessible Entryway!

Gray Coast Guildhall is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

The Gray Coast Guildhall is a collectively managed arts, performance, and gathering space in the rural town of Quilcene, on traditional Twana and S’Klallam land on the Olympic Peninsula. We are raising money to put a new roof on the building and build a wheelchair accessible walkway and entrance. With your help we can preserve our historic home and make this project more accessible. Donations of any amount will help us meet our goal, as will spreading the word to friends and family. Thanks for your support!

In solidarity,

the Gray Coast Guildhall Organizing Collective

What is the Guildhall?

The Guildhall represents something that not many small towns have – a volunteer run, collectively owned and organized, all-ages performance and gathering space that operates on the values of anti-oppression, collective management, environmental consciousness, and community resilience. Most events and groups use the space free of charge - we keep the lights on and things running by taking donations during events, accepting in-kind supplies and volunteer labor, and the crucial support of our monthly Patreon supporters.

We started the project in 2018, and since then have hosted local and touring bands, choirs and variety shows, book tours, movie nights, meetings, dances, fundraisers, work parties, and more! The Guildhall is a space where rural artists and organizers, youth and elders, queer and trans folks, crafters and creators, and everyone in between, can come together in a positive and welcoming space. As we connect over arts and music, and over the things that matter most and impact, inspire, concern or excite us, we build a flourishing, creative, resilient community together.

Why are a new roof and accessible entryway so important?

Our home is the historic Old Theater building in the heart of Quilcene. It was built in the 1930s and has a rich and storied past. Throughout the decades it has been a staple of the town as a movie theater, performance venue, thrift shop, arts collective, lumber mill, and so much more. Operating out of a historic building is a special opportunity to steward a part of this area’s history, and it is also a lot of work! It’s an extremely quirky building (we’re talking wind-blowing-through-the-cracks-in-the-walls level of quirky) and it’s in need of a huge number of improvements to ensure that it’s future is as bright as it’s past.

Our current roof is leaking in innumerable spots, and the rusted metal is deteriorating season by season. Once we have a new roof and the building is securely dry, we can start chipping away at the much-needed interior work, with the goal of making the Guildhall warm, dry, and comfortable for events year-round.

Creating an ADA accessible walkway and entrance to the building is critical as well. As a space for people to gather for performances, meetings, and more, we must upgrade our infrastructure to make the building as accessible as possible. There are many other improvements that will need to be made to make the Guildhall fully accessible, but the walkway and entrance are an important first move.

A new roof and the ADA entrance are our priority projects – we have all sorts of designs up our sleeves after that! New insulation and heating system, finishing out the interior, building out meeting rooms and artist spaces… just to name a few. But none of this can happen until these top priorities are taken care of.

How will this money be spent?

Wheelchair accessible walkway, ramp, and entrance: $1800

$800 - concrete & rebar for ramp

$500 - handrail

$500 - gravel for pathway

New Roof: $22,380

$500 - Repairing/replacing damaged roof trusses

$3,500 - Partial replacement of roof decking

$12,800 - Roofing panels in rigid steel, creating a roof that will last many generations

$300 - Screws

$200 - Flashing tape

$500 - Ridge cap

$1700 - Initial permitting & inspection

$1600 - Subsequent inspections

$880 - Gutters & downspouts

$400 - Stove pipe & flanges to repair wood stove pass through (reused materials)

Stretch Goals: $1820 (not absolutely critical to the project, but would really be the icing on the cake) :

$100 - Leaf guards for gutters

$250 - Rain barrels to catch roof run off for watering the lawn/garden

$600 - New material to upgrade stove pipe installation

$220 - Materials transportation

$250 - Snacks & refreshments for volunteer laborers during summer work parties

$400 - Misc / unexpected expenses

++ With 100% volunteered/donated labor! ++

How else can I support?

A building with this much history should have a future – let’s build that future together! Your donation of any amount will help us reach our goal, and there are many other ways to support this project as well:

Come out next summer and help us install the new roof!!!! This will be a huge project done with 100% volunteer labor, and we will need the help of our amazing community to get it done.

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram to get updates about shows and events, fundraising, work parties, and more! You can also check out our website to get more information about what we are up to, or to join our mailing list for monthly updates.

Become a monthly community supporter on Patreon. The support of our monthly donors help us keep the lights on and also goes towards our insurance, taxes, and other expenses, so that we can focus our energy on this big fundraising project! We are all volunteer run, so every dollar goes right to the project.

Donate material and supplies for these projects! Our list of materials for these projects is detailed above – please reach out if you’d like to make an in-kind donation. We also have an additional wishlist for the theater on our website.