Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
An addition to Uniontown’s Artisans at the Dahmen Barn property is nearing reality with bids going out this week for a project which will replace the old loafing shed with a 3,500 square-foot multiple use building.
It will include space for up to four artist studios, restrooms and a large main room to use for music events, classes and private rentals.
“We’ve got a great-looking building on paper. We’re really excited about it,” said Leslee Miller, Dahmen Barn manager.
In addition, the Dahmen Barn board of directors decided to put in a commercial kitchen in the new building, for use at events as well as to begin a culinary arts program.
This was added to the original building project, which will be paid for by a $362,300 ArtPlace Foundation Creative Placemaking grant that the Dahmen Barn received last year.
Miller is writing grant applications now in the hopes to raise money to pay for the commercial kitchen, to be installed as funds become available.
The new structure will be built using board siding from the loafing shed, which was removed in March after volunteers cleaned out the shed last fall.
The new structure is designed to look like indigenous architecture of the Palouse. Board member Junette Dahmen was one of the advocates for this, saying that it needs to look old.
“It looks like it fits,” said Miller, about the architectural drawings.
Dahmen and her late husband Steve donated the 1935 barn and property around it to the UCDA in 2004.
Besides funding the new addition, the Artplace Foundation grant will also help pay for a new driveway and parking area east of the barn, as well as an area for art installations.
Once the new building is complete, the upstairs in the adjacent main barn will return to a more limited use.
“The room on the second floor, which has been our everything room, will go back to being a gallery,” Miller said.
The spot where the addition will go up now has two holes in the ground for water and sewer. The work was done by Roach Construction of Genesse, Idaho, which performed the dismantling of the loafing shed and removal of various materials.
The water and sewer work were finished in April in order to meet the requirement to spend some .09 grant money from the county by the end of the month.
“We’ve got water and sewer and a clean site,” said Miller. “That’s what we have today.”
Materials removed from the loafing shed included boards and a metal roof, timber sold to a reseller, firewood given away and five truckloads of concrete taken to Jim Dahmen’s farm.
During the process, the barn group also received a sewer pipe donation for the new construction.
“People are willing to help where they can,” Miller said.
After the boards and metal roof came off in January, the barn held a photography contest featuring the remaining skeleton. The pictures will be exhibited in the Dahmen Barn in June.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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