The City to Consider Reinstating 242 Main
Since 2016, Big Heavy World has been a persistent advocate for the City of Burlington to repair Memorial Auditorium and restore 242 Main, Burlington’s historic — and loved — teen-led music venue. This work has brought us to city council meetings, Neighborhood Planning Assemblies, conversations with CEDO and administration officials, and generally anywhere we could remind decision-makers that they have as much of a responsibility to Burlington’s young adults as they do to anybody else. More than 2,400 people joined to support this cause by signing the Save242Main.com petition, and when surveyed, the people of the city put ‘Youth music space’ and ‘Youth-led program space’ in the top six things they wanted to see back at Memorial Auditorium.
When the teen center was closed, there wasn’t a public comment by the mayor. It was as if thirty years of 242 Main was submerged in the sea of neglect that closed Memorial in the first place. The path to a public process for determining the future of Memorial was full of roadblocks, too. When the community came together to stand up for preserving a public commons and create a plan for it, its vision was smashed again by the City’s inattention, or willful neglect, of those priorities.
Eventually, this October, the City of Burlington announced a Request for Proposals for Adaptive Reuse of Memorial Auditorium, hoping a local developer might step forward to repair the building and program it, relieving the city of this challenge. The deadline to submit proposals was last Friday, and Big Heavy World submitted one. This seems to be the last chance to reclaim the legacy created by generations of Burlington’s young people. We should all know the decision at the City Council meeting on January 23, 2023.
Our vision for putting 242 Main back where it belongs includes a lot of outreach and inclusion of Burlington’s other youth programs, and would bring Big Heavy World’s headquarters into another corner of the Memorial Auditorium building. In whole, it would have 242 Main serve everyone it possibly could, and grow community awareness and support. Big Heavy World hopes to learn from those who loved 242 Main in the past, and is already including the young people who will give it new light and energy. We hope to play a stewardship role that restores a missing and missed resource.
Our proposal is limited to the historic 242 Main space and the janitor’s office behind its stage. The decision will be made by an ad hoc committee and will likely be approved by the city council. If you have hope for the return of 242 Main — especially if you want to bring your ideas and energy to the work of restoring it — lend your support! Let your city councilor know that this is important to you, too. And if you’d like to get even more involved, reach out for conversations about what’s possible.
The ad hoc committee members who will decide the future of Memorial Auditorium:
Ben Doyle - Preservation Trust of Vermont, ben@ptvermont.org
Ron Wanamaker - Preservation Burlington, restore@burlingtontelecom.net
Zoraya Hightower - Burlington City Councilor, zhightower@burlingtonvt.gov
Joan Shannon - Burlington City Councilor, City of Burlington, jshannon@burlingtonvt.gov
Doreen Kraft - Burlington City Arts, dkraft@burlingtoncityarts.org
Deryk Roach - Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront, droach@burlingtonvt.gov
Will Clavelle - Business & Workforce Development, wclavelle@burlingtonvt.gov
Brian Pine - Community & Economic Development Office, bpine@burlingtonvt.gov
Phet Keomanyvanh - Racial Equity Inclusion & Belonging, pkeomanyvanh@burlingtonvt.gov
Meagan Tuttle - Office of City Planning, mtuttle@burlingtonvt.gov