We became caretakers of the original 1860 Hamilton Elementary School in February 2009. Dr. Trivett, our boys’ pediatrician, had occupied the building for thirty years. In his waiting room patients would sit on the old church pew, and to amuse ourselves we wondered what secrets the building had to tell, especially in the unreachable attic and the closed southern rooms. The place held our fascination. Ten years ago I thought, This would make a great yoga school.
Last year when the building became available, I was looking for a room – just a room – large enough to hold a teacher training. One rainy December day Pete swerved onto Weaver Road. We just have to take a look at it, he said. And following Pete’s inspiration came the beautiful Divine choreography: the sale, demolition, and reconstruction unfolded with grace. Thank you, Dharma Mittra.
Our family and friends gutted the building, filling 9 20-yard dumpsters. We were sometimes knee-deep in plaster dust. The carpentry crew honorably pursued their work and gave us many of their precious Saturdays. Our architects, Estes/Twombly, were able to stay honest to the original design. Unveiling the mammoth windows and letting in the light felt like The Great and Divine Revelation. We were all in awe of the building and the way it speaks. During construction, my favorite place to stand was on the rafters in the attic, looking down into what is now the studio. From such height I understood the space differently. And at such height I felt I was among its angels. We Aumed every chance we got.
The building that houses Grace has operated since 1860 as a schoolhouse, a church, a day care center, a weaver’s studio, and a pediatrician’s office. The building is large enough in Spirit to hold whatever we bring to it. Voices become choral, angelic here. It’s easy to meet pitch in such volume and to feel holy, as in a temple. Housing Grace, the building continues to perform its dharma as a creative center for healing and learning.
Thanks to Dr. Trivett and Christie Poore; Estes/Twombly Architects; Joseph Scotti and Friends; Phillip, Gray, Libby, and Anthea; and especially Peter.
Thank you, Dharma Mittra, for your divine Grace.