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This rendering shows the rotunda and hallway inside the Harrington Center for the Arts, which has plans for a modern renovation.

Courtesy Summerisa Stevens

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This undated photo shows Carol and Dr. Carl Bell, who purchased the former Harrington School with the intent of turning it into an arts center.

Courtesy Summerisa Stevens

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This undated photo shows the Harrington School in American Fork, now the Harrington Center for the Arts. A proposed renovation to to the building would add a modern wing.

Courtesy Summerisa Stevens

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This rendering shows a classroom inside the Harrington Center for the Arts, which has plans for a modern renovation.

Courtesy Summerisa Stevens

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In this undated photo, Dr. Carl Bell talks about his own play, "Deseret."

Courtesy Summerisa Stevens

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If you live in or around American Fork, you most likely are familiar with the Harrington School building that stands adjacent to the historic City Hall on Church Street.

Several years ago, the building was purchased by Dr. Carl Bell with support from his wife, Carol, with a vision to transform it into a gathering place for culture and the arts.

“My father was a local physician and saw potential in the building,” said Summerisa Bell Stevens, the Bells’ daughter and president and co-founder of the Harrington Center for the Arts. “In 2015, he passed away from cancer and we started talking about what to do with the building.”

Stevens and her husband lived in New York City and had a dance studio in Manhattan. Against the advice of some, they picked up sticks and moved home to American Fork, with a dream and a major project ahead of them.

“In 2017, we were officially incorporated as a 501(c)(3),” Stevens said. The move established the Harrington Center for the Arts Foundation.

“Our nonprofit actually began with the vision of my father, the late Dr. Carl Bell. He saved the Harrington School from the wrecking ball when he purchased the building because he passionately believed in the site’s potential to serve as a cultural center for the entirety of northern Utah Valley, and to unite Utahns from all walks of life through the arts,” she added. “Originally constructed in 1903, the Harrington School is considered by many the birthplace of public education west of the Mississippi (River) and survives today as the oldest and most significant example of educational architecture in American Fork and one of the few remaining buildings of its kind in Utah.”

To keep the Harrington Center for the Arts on a growth trajectory, the Stevenses have received large private donations, money from the city’s PARC tax for their programs and a grant from the state of Utah.

“I am very excited about it,” said Mayor Brad Frost. “We’ve gone through a lot but we will have the best of both worlds. We just want to make sure it’s solvent.”

Frost noted the Harrington building, named after the city’s first mayor, has been iconic in American Fork for decades. Now, with plans for a new addition, it is hoped to be a place where artists can teach, exhibit and perform.

Local residents currently own two parcels of land where the new addition would be built and a larger parking area for patrons, a portion of which Carol Bell has a joint use agreement in place for. According to Frost, the foundation is currently in discussions to acquire the properties. However, he doesn’t see many hurdles in the way, and he expects ground to be broken in the spring, with full completion 14 months later.

Frost noted they have done a few things in preparation for the downtown facility including changing the code for the center.

Councilman Rob Shelton is a big proponent of the project. He chose not to run for reelection and he sees himself being more involved with the Harrington Center next year.

“It’s a great blessing to our community,” said Shelton, who is helping look for donors.

While “The Ruth,” the new home for Hale Center Theater Orem, is under construction just next door in Pleasant Grove, Stevens sees it as a synergistic partner rather than a copmetitor and is excited for its completion. The same is true for the SCERA Center for the Arts.

While The Ruth will be dedicated to performance, the Harrington Center for the Arts will provide places for artisans to teach their craft. For instance, if someone wanted to teach dance to special needs children, the Harrington theoretically could provide a place. There is also an area for stage performance.

Shelton said one of his goals is to preserve the building’s history. Stevens calls it a hub for the community.

Studies have been done, engineers have been hired, seismic upgrades are planned and the new addition will provide elevators and accommodations for residents with disabilities.

“We’ve only heard positive things from the community. … There is a big community need for things like a rentable theater,” Stevens said.

“Our mission and programming has now collectively drawn thousands of individuals to volunteer. Each year, over 300 local residents volunteer their time and specialities in addition to what our 51 committee members, board of directors and staff give,” he added. “Our mission and programming has now collectively drawn hundreds of individuals to volunteer. Our projects have created a cohesiveness in purpose amongst our volunteers from a diverse group of people that would otherwise be strangers. Of our current 51 committee members and board of directors, six are directly related to Dr. Carl Bell, but at this point everyone truly feels like family.”

Over the past six years, the Harrington Center has contributed to the arts in northern Utah County, staging several public arts events that have supported 2,838 local artists and served 63,273 patrons, according to statistics kept by the organization.

“American Fork is our home and your family’s legacy — we want to help it flourish,” Stevens said. “This is our chance to construct something lasting, to provide a home for education and the arts in our town that will bring out the best in the people of northern Utah County and endure long beyond any one individual’s involvement.”

To help obtain private donations, the Harrington Center will be holding several events through the end of the year, including:

• Oct. 26: Harrington Through the Looking Glass Gala.
• Oct. 31: Sculpture Walk unveiling.
• Nov. 11: Exploration of New Works.
• Dec. 4-9: Living Bethlehem & Makers Market.

For more information on these and other activities, visit http://harringtoncenter.org or contact summerisa@harringtoncenter.org or info@harringtoncenter.org.