Oak Hill Bar

On September 18th The Franke Center for the Arts held a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception celebrating the completion of the new Oak Hill Bar in The Franke’s Downstage area. The bar features fabulous woodwork from Puckett Construction and custom stained glass repurposed from old Franke Center windows by Mary Heilman. The project also included improvements to the Franke Center’s kitchen area, which allow it to be a fully-certifiable commercial kitchen. Funding from the project came from the Franke family fund administered by the Marshall Community Foundation, as well as a Match on Main grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The Franke’s application for the MEDC grant was administered and facilitated by Choose Marshall. Portions of the project related to environmental sustainability were funded through a grant from Eaton Corporation.

“We’re grateful to all the organizations and board members who made this day possible,” said Jacob Gates, The Franke Center’s executive director. “We especially have to thank our board chair Tom Franke, who had the idea for this upgrade to our food and beverage services and was instrumental in the planning and execution of the project every step of the way.”

The Franke Center for the Arts hosts concerts, theater performances, weddings, group meetings and corporate events which will all be able to utilize the newly-improved space. For more information about The Franke Center and their programming, please visit TheFranke.org.

Photo includes (L to R): Ryan Traver, Barbara Cook, Shannon Tiernan, Jim Durian, Jacob Gates, Nancy Cracraft, Bob Veramay, and Melissa Gates