By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A local nonprofit is continuing to raise money to purchase and grow the legacy of the Shakespeare Chateau.
The Shakespeare Chateau Guild launched a campaign in August to raise $5 million to purchase the Chateau at 809 Hall Street along with the property next door.
Shakespeare Chateau owner Isobel McGowan says the guild's purchase will carry the Chateau into its next phase of ownership, but also add an educational component.
"Education in terms of using the buildings as a laboratory for teaching hospitality skills, like innkeeping and culinary arts that sort of thing, for teaching preservation skills, how to take care of historic buildings, historic masonry, woodworking, roofing, windows, all that sort of thing," Mcgowan tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
She also adds they hope to add a community aspect, working with organizations such as the Allied Arts Council, to bring new events to St. Joseph as well.
"Things like possibly a Shakespeare festival, of course the Shakespeare theme lends itself well to an idea like that, but others are possible too, things like writers' workshops, symphony retreats, weekend events, we can host all sorts of things at the Chateau," Mcgowan explains.
McGowan says the campaign is garnering smaller donations, but now they hope to let the philanthropic community in St. Joseph know that this is an opportunity for them to leave a legacy
"Put their name on a project that can truly become a beacon for preservation and saving our history here in St. Joseph," McGowan says. "We tend to be a little too neglectful I think of our history, our historic buildings."
McGowan cites the recent destruction of the Stockyard Exchange Building as an example.
The group hopes to raise the funds to purchase the properties in the next year or two, but there is no certain timeline.