With the help of generous donations, Easton Legacy Fund aims to help Easton not-for-profits support and give back to the town through various projects. Below, we highlight the Oakes Ames Memorial Hall, which we feel is a strong consideration for future Legacy Fund grants.

Oakes Ames Memorial Hall

3 Barrows Street, North Easton | Visit Site

Oakes Ames Memorial Hall, a National Historic Landmark building, constructed in 1879-81, is one of five buildings in the town designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson. In an 1885 poll of architects, it was ranked as one of America’s ten best 19th-century buildings. On November 14, 1881, the Memorial Hall was sold by Oakes’ children, Oakes Angier and Oliver III, for one dollar to the Oakes Ames Memorial Hall Association, Inc. The building was to be held in trust by the Association for the benefit of the “Inhabitants of Easton.” On March 4th, 1882, the town meeting voted to accept the gift according to the donors’ terms of the gift to be held in trust, managed by the Association, and maintained by the town.

Although the building was referred to as the “Town Hall”, it was not designed for municipal departmental offices. The Hall’s large open rooms were designed to be used just as they are today, as gathering places for meetings, lectures, performances, and public discussions. The Association has two roles to balance; one is maintaining the historic building, and we thank Easton’s Community Preservation for their generous funding of recent major capital projects. Approximately 15% of gross revenue each year is forgone for discounts, as the Association helps local non-profits and residents with discounted rental rates for the use of their facilities. The other role is to promote cultural tourism, and for that, they are upgrading the facilities they offer. The first step was renovating the upstairs stage by replacing the fifty-five-year asbestos stage curtains. A much-appreciated gift from the Easton Legacy Fund helped get their fundraising for that “over the top” and enabled them to take that first step.

The town has free use of the Hall for municipal events and meetings. The Hall plays an important role as a venue for community and family activities, drawing people from in and out of Easton to revitalize North Easton’s Main Street. Many of the activities relate to our new role as the performance and event center of the Easton Shovel Town Cultural District. This program is part of the Commonwealth’s Downtown Revitalization Program. The Massachusetts Cultural Council provides funding to the Cultural District to sponsor the Summer Music Series Concerts which consists of seven outdoor evening concerts on Wednesdays from July to September. Held on the Hall’s front steps they are becoming increasingly popular. On Sunday, September 17th a music festival sponsored by the District capped off the 2023 Summer Series with five bands performing on three stages.  To provide room for the larger crowd, Main Street and Barrows Street in front of the Hall were closed to traffic. The festival attracted over 900 people. From October to May the Hall hosts popular indoor concerts every two to three months in its upstairs room, an attractive space that seats over 200 people, has stained glass windows, and a twenty foot high ceiling.

The Hall hosts approximately 145 events and around 10,000 visitors annually. It is or has been a venue for concerts, plays, dances, weddings and wedding receptions, anniversary parties, bar mitzvahs, family reunions, art exhibitions, town of Easton committee meetings (free), the Easton Holiday festival (for 40+ years), winter farmer’s market, the library’s children’s summer program, church services, music recitals, Boy Scouts meetings (free), Red Cross blood drives (free), yoga classes, and various other events.