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09/25/2016 09:50 AMGot spray paint? Before the huge Atlantic Wire building is demolished, register to help blast the brick exterior with graffiti-style "tags" for a month of Sundays in October.
Beginning Sunday, Oct. 2, pre-registered painting parties will be on site every Sunday of the month, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., tagging the building as a community event to help send off the 110 year-old riverside mill.
Although the actual date of building demolition has yet to be set, Atlantic Wire's looming, familiar presence at the corner of Montowese and Meadow Street is destined to disappear, making way for mixed-use Atlantic Wharf.
Approved by Branford Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) in January 2016, Atlantic Wharf's 10 three-story buildings will include 205 residential units and a mix of commercial spaces for restaurants, retail and offices. At time of approval, the plan called for phased construction, with the first building going up in an empty lot on Meadow Street, while demolition of Atlantic Wire began across the street. However, the start has been stalled by a civil suit, still underway, brought in Feb. 2016 by a Wilford Avenue property owner against Branford PZC and Atlantic Wharf developer Metro Star LLC (Milford).
Branford's Planning and Zoning office confirmed Metro Star has not yet applied for a permit to knock down Atlantic Wire.
But as Greg Robbins pointed out, "...they can demo the building at any time." Robbins is the realtor representing the property, and one of the organizers of the painting events.
Robbins said the idea is to invite the community to "tag" (graffiti slang for stylized signatures) Atlantic Wire as a way to pay homage to a piece of Branford history, build some community involvement and potentially generate some donations to benefit two local non-profits, Branford Historical Society and Branford Art Center (BAC).
"We know it's coming," said Robbins of the demolition. "This is a landmark, and it's going to be gone, so why not recognize it before it's gone?"
In 2012, Zip06/The Sound joined Robbins and a Branford High School AP science class on a tour of the emptied Atlantic Wire building, which was undergoing environmental remediation at the time. The tour was joined by Branford native Bill Hitchcock, whose grandfather founded the mill in 1906. Bill Hitchcock also worked at Atlantic Wire. He described the milling process, which could work steel rods into wire that could be drawn down to the thinness of a paper clip. Hitchcock also recalled going over to Atlantic Wire as a boy to watch a locomotive steam engine, once built into a room in the building, power the mill. See the tour story and accompanying photo gallery here
Robbins is organzing the tag Atlantic Wire project with BAC founder and artist Yvonne Gordon and the permission of the property owners.
"The current owners, Kevin O'Neill and his partners, are really good members of the community who are very philanthropic in what they do," said Robbins. "They were very open-minded when we approached them with this idea."
In addition to opening up this unique opportunity to aspiring artists, interested community members, schools and other groups, the project will be joined by some veterans who paint in a BAC group. Robbins and Gordon invite any interested local veterans to also join in.
"We're hoping the veterans are going to have their own messages to convey," said Robbins. "It doesn't have to be about Atlantic Wire, and you don't have to be an artist."
In addition, a section will be set aside for tagging by former Atlantic Wire employees.
"We're welcoming any past workers who want to sign the wall we'll set aside for them," said Robbins.
The painting project will have some ground rules about acceptable content, but other than that, the design will evolve each Sunday, said Robbins, who will be there to oversee with Gordon. Painting will start on the brick façade facing Montowese (across from Branford armory). All painting will be on the outside of the building.
"We're going to use that big wall on the Montowese Street side, and then work our way down Meadow Street," said Robbins. "We'll set up our staging area with a tent in the lot on Meadow Street, and the artists can park their cars there, then walk across the street."
It's important to note that participants do need to bring their own supplies, including spray paint. There is no cost to register; but donations are welcome. Robbins said donations will be split equally between Branford Historical Society and BAC. BAC supports many community art projects. Branford Historical Society was selected as a recipient due to the historic nature of the Atlantic Wire building. The historical society is not affiliated with the painting project.
To join the project, pre-register at BAC by stopping in at 1229 Main St., Branford, any Wednesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. , or contact Yvonne Gordon at 1229bacgallery@gmail.com or (860) 334-4642.