Dirt and detritus

Day one of recycling at the Hamlin Court Factory building proceeded today with a group of community members assisting Scott Kessel in emptying the building of the waste left behind when the Wesleyan buildings and maintenance department departed.

The building is still owned by Wesleyan which has been working with Kessel, whose wish it is to turn it into artspace.

The workers help sort metal from other materials, including paper and plastic. Much of what was left behind included outdated plumbing fixtures, old fasteners and door hardware.

While the abandoned workshops seem beaten and worn, there is plenty of promise for future artspace.

Hamlin Factory Salvage Days

From Scott Kessel

Hamlin Factory Salvage Days: Saturday, August 9th : 9 am to 3 pm Sunday, August 10th : 10 am to 4 pm

The Hamlin Factory - Middletown's soon-to-be workspace for artists, is proud to sponsor two Community Salvage, Recycle, Reuse, and Remove Days, August 9th and August 10th.

We have a great opportunity to keep a lot of reusable and recyclable objects out of the landfill. Help us to empty out the old factory building. Salvage stuff that is of use to you - recycle stuff that isn't. Wesleyan University has provided two large dumpsters for the stuff no one is interested in. Come and take what you want (with thanks to Wesleyan) in exchange for a few hours of good hard work.

From the attic to the basement, there are treasures to be discovered. Nearly everything that isn't nailed down (and some stuff that is!) is up for grabs. Junk sculptors, found object artists, tinkers and inventors beware. There's so much cool stuff, you'll wish you had a truck or trailer.
Please bring your own gloves, dust mask, and flashlight if you wish. Wear work clothes you can get dirty in. No kids please. Due to some unfortunate vandalism, it's quite a mess in there. There is electricity, but no running water or toilets. Because we don't own the property yet, everyone entering the building will need to sign a Visit Waiver and Release agreement.

We're looking for volunteers to help coordinate certain aspects of the clean up. Please contact me at kesselarts@gmail.com or by phone at (860)-930-8440 before the weekend if you can help. If you have any extra boxes for organizing and sorting recyclables, please bring them.

Visit our web site: http://groups.google.com/group/hamlin-park for a partial list of the stuff available for salvage inside the old factory, and for the latest information about the progress of the factory project itself.

Please feel free to spread the word to those you might think would be interested. Come by to help or just to see the factory space and show your support.