It’s been a decade since High Street’s technical college began its transformation into Maitland’s magnificent Mecca of art.
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But the building’s connection to art goes back a lot further than that.
“When the building (now the Maitland Regional Art Gallery) was a technical college some of its first classes were art classes,” Maitland historian Janis Wilton said.
“And now look what it has become.”
The evolution of the building will be discussed during a talk at the gallery next week with Dr Wilton and husband Joe Eisenberg, revealing the story of the building.
“The idea was triggered by people coming in here wanting to know about the history,” Dr Wilton said.
“So we thought we’d give people a sense of the place and the people who were here before it was a gallery, because we really want to engage people with the site.”
In the heart of Maitland, the building has served as a warehouse, coach factory, Maitland Technical College and, until 1955, Maitland Technological Museum.
“It was full of stuffed birds and that sort of thing but really this place is full of wonderful stories . . . there is a lot more to it than the gallery you see now,” Dr Wilton said.
The history of the site will be revealed during a talk at the Maitland Regional Art Gallery on Tuesday, October 7, at 5.30pm.
