Thirty years ago next month, Port Washington turned a shuttered school into the building that now anchors much of the town's cultural life. Landmark on Main Street, the arts and community center inside the old Main Street School, opened in November 1995, and it is marking the anniversary with a gala on Saturday, November 7 featuring the Brass-A-Holics, the New Orleans band that fuses brass-band tradition with Washington, D.C. go-go funk.

How a closed school became a landmark

The story starts with bad news. In 1984, the Board of Education announced it would close the Main Street School, an 87-year-old building that had already been designated a historic landmark. Two citizen groups formed in response: one wanted expanded recreation and cultural space for children, the other wanted affordable housing for seniors being priced out of Port Washington. In 1986 the two groups merged, incorporated, and set out to buy the building.

The $11.5 million acquisition and renovation, financed through a mix of government money, corporate funds and private donations, produced a combination the organization describes as a unique model of community development: 59 units of affordable senior housing, a two-acre town park and a 25,000-square-foot community center under one roof. The community center rents affordable space to nonprofit organizations, and its Jeanne Rimsky Theater has spent three decades hosting concerts, school performances and community events, a short walk from the Port Washington train station.

The gala, and the rest of the fall calendar

The November 7 gala begins at 8 p.m. and honors Hillary and Sam Fox, along with a community honoree, the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter. It caps the organization's Cheers to 30 Years campaign, the fundraising appeal attached to the anniversary season.

The anniversary programming does not wait for November. This month's calendar at the Jeanne Rimsky Theater includes Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country on October 18, a watch party for the Rent 30th anniversary concert livestream on October 26, and a Hocus Pocus Taste-A-Long screening on October 30, where themed tastings accompany the movie.

What to know

Landmark on Main Street is on Main Street in Port Washington, within walking distance of the train station. Tickets for the gala and the fall season are available at landmarkonmainstreet.org. The gala is Saturday, November 7 at 8 p.m.

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