Perkins Center Seeks to Memorialize Co-Founder

Perkins Center for the Arts wants to pay tribute to one of its founding members by renovating and renaming the building she helped put on the map.

Jean Gaasch, one of a handful of people who led the charge to found Perkins roughly 40 years ago, died in February at the age of 82. Gaasch, who also taught at Roberts Elementary School for 23 years, was particularly instrumental in converting the Carriage House on the property into the classroom/studio space it has become, according to associate director Diane Felcyn.

Shortly after her passing, Perkins approached Gaasch's daughter, Laura, with the idea of launching a fundraising campaign to refurbish the building, which is in desperate need of new flooring, electric, heating/air conditioning and other improvements.

"It's time. It's time for another renovation," said Felcyn. "The needs of this building are so severe right now ... we no longer have the luxury of waiting."

The space is heavily used for classes, perhaps even moreso than the main building, according to Felcyn—with a dance studio, adult painting classes and lectures held on the first floor, and adult watercolor and children's art classes on the second.

Laura Gaasch said the center's need, paired with the interest in honoring her mother, was a "perfect combination."

"The Carriage House was something my mom did start, and it's a fitting tribute to what she contributed to Perkins and the community," she said. 

The $50,000 campaign got off to a promising start with a lead donation from Pamela Perkins Young, granddaughter of Alice and Dudley Perkins, for whom the original historic Tudor home was originally built.

Felcyn said the carriage house was built in the 1930s, about 20 years after the main home. It was converted into the arts center at the same time as the rest of the property, in the late '70s.

So far, about $11,000 has been raised during the "soft" part of the campaign. The campaign will begin its big push around mid-June, Felcyn said, adding, "We're really hoping to get this done this year."

She said once the improvements are complete, the center will affix a plaque to the building bearing Gaasch's name.

The carriage house renovations are part of a larger improvement project at Perkins, involving the creation of a preservation plan through the New Jersey Historic Trust. Though the improvements to the carriage house will likely take place before the plan is completed, Felcyn said the center is taking steps to ensure any improvements to the structure are historically appropriate.

To donate to the carriage house renovation project, visit the Perkins Center website.