Chester

Key ABCD activities:
•    Plan for community cultural center in new housing development  with funding of $2 million from Hope VI grant
•    Chester Arts Alive established in 2003 to coordinate interim arts programs and events, to garner support for arts activities and the new cultural center, and to create a program and operational plan for the cultural center
•    Many local non-profit partners for effort –   Chester Children's Chorus, Chester Economic Development Authority, Chester Education Foundation, Chester Fine Arts Center East, Chester Housing Authority, Chester School of the Arts, Chester Youth Collaborative, Community Arts Center, Darlington Arts Center, Hedgerow Theater, Musicopia, NAACP - Chester Branch, NewNique Productions, NIA Cultural Arts Center People's Light & Theater, Suburban Music School, The Wellness Center, United Way of Southeast Delaware County, Widener University, YWCA of Chester

Background:
Chester, originally know as Upland, was the site of William Penn's first landing in America (1682) and is the oldest city in the state. In 1789, the city became the county seat for the newly-created Delaware County (Chester County became a landlocked county with West Chester as its county seat), the county seat moved to Media in 1851.  In the 1950s, Chester was a thriving community with more than 65,000 residents, but like many other small industrial towns, lost industry and population over subsequent decades and experienced neighborhood decline. Today Chester has fewer than 37, 000 residents.

For more information contact:
Don Newton 
Chair, Board of Directors
Chester Arts Alive
(610) 800-9681
dwnewton5@yahoo.com