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By Kristin Palpini, The Berkshire Eagle
BECKET — The spiral staircase in the Becket Arts Center has stymied many visits to lectures, concerts and workshops — but no more.
The arts center, which has 50 events scheduled this summer, recently added a chair-lift elevator to the building that will allow people with disabilities to get to the second floor, the Philip Barber Gallery, with ease.
Installation of the chair-lift elevator cost about $100,000 and was well worth it, said Becket Arts Center board member Susan Dworkin.
"At the center of this renewal was to make it handicapped-accessible," she said. "We're doing our best to tell all the seniors, veterans, disabled that this [chair-lift elevator] exists now and you can come to anything here."
The chair-lift elevator is a cross between an elevator and a forklift. A white door slowly swings open to let people on and off the conveyance. Once inside, the rider is in an open, painted shaft on a platform with waist-high walls. Unlike traditional elevators, riders need to press the up/down button for the whole ride.
The Becket Arts Center, on Brooker Hill Road, celebrated the new elevator this month with a "lift off" party.
"It's a beautiful, windy staircase — that's really tough on people sometimes," Dworkin said. "People would ask us about events: `Oh, that sounds interesting; is it upstairs?' and we'd say yes and they'd say, `can't make it.'"
The elevator installation was part of renovation efforts undertaken by the 14-member volunteer Becket Arts Center board. Last summer, the 163-year-old building was repainted and new doors were added.
The building, nestled along the town's cultural center and behind the library, was the town's first established school and educated students there until a new school was built in 1940. From there, it became an American Legion, then a community center and, in 1970, the Becket Arts Center incorporated and leased the building from Becket for $1 a year.
The Becket Arts Center hosts its own events, but also is available for community meetings, workshops and celebrations, said board member Sally Soluri. The center also runs an after-school arts program in town.
Among the 50 events planned for the 2018 season are: ephemeral art with sculptor Dave Rothstein; the harp's history and sound with Elizabeth Morse; music and lecture by hip-hop's Dirty Moses; a behind-the-scenes look at animation and special effects; cheese making; summer camps for kids; yoga; dance; gallery and exhibits and artist workshops for everyone, regardless of skill level.
Kristin Palpini can be reached at kpalpini@berkshrieeagle.com, @kristinpalpini, 413-629-4621.