Ballroom Reno Completes Historical Society’s Restoration Work

By BILL BELLEN
ONEONTA

At 6 p.m. on Friday, June 12, the Oneonta History Center and Museum nearly reached capacity as a crowd of community members gathered to witness the unveiling of the building’s newly-renovated historic third-floor ballroom.

The ballroom at 183 Main Street stands as just one of three to have ever been constructed along Main Street in Oneonta. After the building was completed in 1866, the venue served for decades as a place to gather for live music, meetings and a variety of social events. As businesses like hardware stores and dress shops came and went downstairs, the third-floor ballroom persisted as a point of communal gathering.

This liveliness continued into the 1940s and early 1950s, when records of events held in the space began to dry up. The final occasion celebrated in the ballroom prior to its renovation seems to have been a 1953 inauguration party for President Eisenhower, as evidenced by the dusty streamers that remained hung on the walls until the renovation work began. These banners are now a part of the Greater Oneonta Historical Society’s collection.

The renovation of the ballroom marks the latest chapter in an effort by the GOHS to preserve the integrity and history of the building the organization calls home. The GOHS purchased the building in 2000, launching a restoration campaign on the first floor that lasted for five years. Further renovations were completed on the first floor and the GOHS permanent exhibit space in May 2022, followed by the repointing of the History Center’s exterior brickwork between 2023 and 2024.

With the historical display refurbished and the building’s structural integrity assured, all heads at the GOHS turned in one direction.

“From the day I started in January 2021, I got asked when we were doing the third-floor ballroom,” said Dr. Marcela Micucci, executive director of the GOHS. “A big goal of ours was to continue the legacy of the third-floor ballroom…because that [was] our last culminating big project.”

Fundraising for the project began in 2024 through a combination of community donations and grant funding. Once the ballroom—which had been used as a storage room for the GOHS’ oversized collection items—was cleared out, local contractors went to work gutting the deteriorated interior structure in January 2025. Despite necessary upgrades like new lighting, plumbing and an HVAC system, great care was taken in order to preserve as much of the historic character of the space as possible. Original wood valances along the room’s windows as well as the original trim were removed during the demolition process so as to not be damaged. Now restored and replaced, these components serve alongside the preserved bandstand and flooring as historic accents to the space. With the addition of two ADA-compliant bathrooms and a small kitchenette in the rear, the ballroom was fully restored by November, in less than a year.

Members of the GOHS team spoke proudly and excitedly about the prospects of a completed ballroom.

“Long before the renovation, as I brought visitors up to view the ballroom, I always gestured at the space and talked about its potential, and how it could be restored ‘at some point soon,’” said GOHS Visitor Services Supervisor Bhanupratap Gaur. “I’m very glad that the vision has been realized.”

“The opening of GOHS’ third floor is a milestone for the Oneonta History Center and Museum,” GOHS Board of Trustees President Kathy Meeker said in a press release prior to the ballroom’s grand opening. “We look forward to celebrating this achievement with our local community.”

Following a successful soft launch during the annual GOHS auction in November, a grand opening gala was scheduled for the evening of June 12. The event was planned as an opportunity to simultaneously show off the new venue, relish in the history of the space and promote the local businesses catering the event. Food providers across Oneonta including Bella Michael’s Restaurant, the B-Side Ballroom, Hannaford, Social Eats Café and Sodexo Catering all donated plates of food that complimented light drinks and a 50/50 raffle.

Micucci recalled the gala as a rewarding experience, saying that “the community actually really pulled together for this.”

With the ballroom’s grand debut behind them, more events are already being planned in the venue. Micucci said that more of the organization’s cultural and educational programming will be taking place in the ballroom moving forward, though no events utilizing the room have been formally announced. As the historical society moves into a new chapter with a full-building historic restoration under its belt, Gaur commented on what the work meant to him personally.

“The most joyful part for me is showing folks the view out of the corner window looking down over downtown Oneonta,” Gaur said. “I have witnessed so many seasons come and go before and after this renovation through these windows, and enjoyed all of it, a new perspective on the downtown I’ve grown up with and become so fond of.”

More information about the GOHS, the third-floor ballroom and upcoming events can be found at https://oneontahistory.org/.