Fry Conter House to Open as Art Center
November 16, 2006
The board of the Historic Apalachicola Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce the opening of the 1845 Fry Conter House on Saturday, Nov. 25 as a center for the arts.
The Secretary of State’s Division of Historical Resources assisted the foundation, as did other private and public entities, in restoring the historic house, at 96 Fifth Street in Apalachicola.
On Nov. 25, a fine art photography exhibit titled, “Apalachicola River: An American Treasure,” presented in association with The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, will open as the inaugural exhibit with a reception from 6 to 8 pm.
On Sunday, Nov 26, a family reception, free and open to the public, will be held from 2 to 4:30 p.m.
Purchase of the house, advocated by the late Mayor Robert Howell, was made possible through collaboration with the Trust for Public Land, which held the house until state preservation funds and funding from the Alfred I. duPont Foundation were secured. The late John J. Hodges, an Apalachicola native and Pinellas County judge, was instrumental in securing funding for the house.
Following this first phase of securing the property, the foundation applied for state funds for the purchase, and then two consecutive, competitively awarded preservation grants for the restoration of the house.
Current directors of the Historic Apalachicola Foundation, Inc. include Marie Marshall, Frank and Frances Cook, Sharon Carlson, Dr. Roy Hunt, Faith W. Bingham and Faye Johnson.
The foundation was responsible for administration of the three grants, including architectural planning and construction administration. This is the second public project planned and implemented by the Historic Apalachicola Foundation, Inc.
In 1991, in collaboration with the then Mayor Jimmie J. Nichols and his fellow commissioners, Lafayette Park was restored with help from the Florida Department of Natural Resources and legislative grants.
The restoration process of the Fry Conter House for adaptive reuse as a center for the arts, uncovered an 1845 Greek Revival structure whose magnificence had been veiled by a front porch added at the beginning of the twentieth century. On-site historical research revealed joist hangers for the original front porch, and thus pointed the way for restoration. The house is a simple, pure Greek Revival style with porch windows to the floor, and an heroic entrance door nine feet high by four feet wide, as is typical in all true Greek Revival buildings.
Celebrating the opening will be a spectacular exhibit presented in association with The Brogan Museum. Appropriately, the inaugural exhibit is titled, “Apalachicola River: An American Treasure,” and features the work of fine art photographers Richard Bickel and Clyde Butcher as large scale prints that illustrate the faces and landscapes of the river.
Additionally, a DVD film telling the story of the river and the production of the photo exhibit will be showing at the museum. Elam Stoltzfus of Blountstown produced the video film with an original soundtrack by Sopchoppy musician Sammy Tedder. The multi-media exhibit features photography, film and music inspired by the mighty Apalachicola. The photographic story records the history of Native Americans and other settlers whose descendants still live in northwest Florida. It is the story of people who make their living from the river, and the story of the political water wars between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It showcases the haunting beauty of rarely seen places like the River Styx, Dead Lakes, Kennedy Creek, Chipola River and Tate’s Hell.
Additional exhibit panels will feature Tedder’s design of the river cane flutes. Tedder, a Florida Panhandle music legend, scored the film, weaving in sounds of Native and African-American music, and using natural instruments he fashioned from the Apalachicola River including swamp reeds for flutes and cypress logs for percussion. The flutes will be displayed during the exhibit in a jewelry case courtesy of Apalachicola silversmith Kristin Anderson.
Butcher, renowned Florida Everglades photographer, traveled to Apalachicola to train his gifted eye on the watershed. His still images join those of Bickel, a photojournalist and author who through this project produced his second book documenting the life and beauty of the faces along the Apalachicola River and Bay. Bickel and Stoltzfus will participate, and Tedder will perform his haunting river cane flute music, at Saturday’s reception.
Bickel will conduct a book signing of “An American Treasure” on Friday, afternoon, Nov. 24 from 1 to 6 p.m. at Downtown Books, 67 Commerce Street.
The Apalachicola Museum of Art in the Fry Conter House will be open to the public throughout the exhibition, and will be available for civic meetings and private events. Other activities scheduled for this exhibit include a lecture by the staff of the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, an artist-guided tour sponsored by the Apalachicola Riverkeeper, and an event for the Franklin County Sacred Heart Hospital fundraising committee.
Future exhibits will include nationally recognized traveling exhibits as well as regional and local artists and art competitions. For more information about upcoming events or to secure tickets for the opening reception on Nov. 25, please call 653-2090. Suggested donation is $35.
On Nov. 25, a fine art photography exhibit titled, “Apalachicola River: An American Treasure,” presented in association with The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, will open as the inaugural exhibit with a reception from 6 to 8 pm.
On Sunday, Nov 26, a family reception, free and open to the public, will be held from 2 to 4:30 p.m.
Purchase of the house, advocated by the late Mayor Robert Howell, was made possible through collaboration with the Trust for Public Land, which held the house until state preservation funds and funding from the Alfred I. duPont Foundation were secured. The late John J. Hodges, an Apalachicola native and Pinellas County judge, was instrumental in securing funding for the house.
Following this first phase of securing the property, the foundation applied for state funds for the purchase, and then two consecutive, competitively awarded preservation grants for the restoration of the house.
Current directors of the Historic Apalachicola Foundation, Inc. include Marie Marshall, Frank and Frances Cook, Sharon Carlson, Dr. Roy Hunt, Faith W. Bingham and Faye Johnson.
The foundation was responsible for administration of the three grants, including architectural planning and construction administration. This is the second public project planned and implemented by the Historic Apalachicola Foundation, Inc.
In 1991, in collaboration with the then Mayor Jimmie J. Nichols and his fellow commissioners, Lafayette Park was restored with help from the Florida Department of Natural Resources and legislative grants.
The restoration process of the Fry Conter House for adaptive reuse as a center for the arts, uncovered an 1845 Greek Revival structure whose magnificence had been veiled by a front porch added at the beginning of the twentieth century. On-site historical research revealed joist hangers for the original front porch, and thus pointed the way for restoration. The house is a simple, pure Greek Revival style with porch windows to the floor, and an heroic entrance door nine feet high by four feet wide, as is typical in all true Greek Revival buildings.
Celebrating the opening will be a spectacular exhibit presented in association with The Brogan Museum. Appropriately, the inaugural exhibit is titled, “Apalachicola River: An American Treasure,” and features the work of fine art photographers Richard Bickel and Clyde Butcher as large scale prints that illustrate the faces and landscapes of the river.
Additionally, a DVD film telling the story of the river and the production of the photo exhibit will be showing at the museum. Elam Stoltzfus of Blountstown produced the video film with an original soundtrack by Sopchoppy musician Sammy Tedder. The multi-media exhibit features photography, film and music inspired by the mighty Apalachicola. The photographic story records the history of Native Americans and other settlers whose descendants still live in northwest Florida. It is the story of people who make their living from the river, and the story of the political water wars between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It showcases the haunting beauty of rarely seen places like the River Styx, Dead Lakes, Kennedy Creek, Chipola River and Tate’s Hell.
Additional exhibit panels will feature Tedder’s design of the river cane flutes. Tedder, a Florida Panhandle music legend, scored the film, weaving in sounds of Native and African-American music, and using natural instruments he fashioned from the Apalachicola River including swamp reeds for flutes and cypress logs for percussion. The flutes will be displayed during the exhibit in a jewelry case courtesy of Apalachicola silversmith Kristin Anderson.
Butcher, renowned Florida Everglades photographer, traveled to Apalachicola to train his gifted eye on the watershed. His still images join those of Bickel, a photojournalist and author who through this project produced his second book documenting the life and beauty of the faces along the Apalachicola River and Bay. Bickel and Stoltzfus will participate, and Tedder will perform his haunting river cane flute music, at Saturday’s reception.
Bickel will conduct a book signing of “An American Treasure” on Friday, afternoon, Nov. 24 from 1 to 6 p.m. at Downtown Books, 67 Commerce Street.
The Apalachicola Museum of Art in the Fry Conter House will be open to the public throughout the exhibition, and will be available for civic meetings and private events. Other activities scheduled for this exhibit include a lecture by the staff of the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, an artist-guided tour sponsored by the Apalachicola Riverkeeper, and an event for the Franklin County Sacred Heart Hospital fundraising committee.
Future exhibits will include nationally recognized traveling exhibits as well as regional and local artists and art competitions. For more information about upcoming events or to secure tickets for the opening reception on Nov. 25, please call 653-2090. Suggested donation is $35.