STEEPLE
The St. Mary’s Steeple, all that’s left of the 1871 church, is known in part as the place where Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2007 Inductees, R.E.M. played their first-ever show on April 5, 1980. In 2013, Nuçi’s Space acquired ownership of the Steeple and launched a reconstruction campaign to preserve the historic and iconic landmark. In addition to preserving the Steeple, the reconstruction project included an expansion of Nuçi’s Space’s existing building, and the creation of a memorial garden. The Steeple reconstruction and expansion project was completed in early 2020.
2014 Steeple Campaign Launch
2020 Reconstruction and Expansion Update
OWN A PIECE OF MUSIC HISTORY AND SUPPORT NUÇI’S SPACE
We have received various contributions to assist in funding; however, the building blocks of this campaign are from selling the literal bricks of St. Mary's Steeple itself.
(photo: Chad Osburn)
THE PROJECT
To stabilize the St. Mary’s Steeple during rehabilitation, a portion of the brickwork needed to be replaced. In the process, over 2,000 bricks from the original 1871 structure were removed. These bricks, a small piece of the building’s long rich history, have been incorporated into our fundraising campaign. The purchase of a Steeple Brick/Name Recognition gets you a brick, featuring an attached metal medallion of authenticity, a paper Certificate of Authenticity, and name recognition on the steeple donor wall. Making a donor wall dedication is a great way to connect yourself or someone you love to the Athens music scene forever. It is a touching tribute to someone no longer here, whose love and influence helped shape your life. It is a fine gift to your children, who can come back throughout their lives and find their names and feel that connection. It is a great way to fill in the details of Athens music history by adding your band name, if you are one of the many, many thousands of people who have participated in the music scene over the years.
As an agency that assists adult musicians in need and also encourages young musicians through the mentorship of Camp Amped, we feel like this is a way to combine all of the support people feel for the Athens music scene, the hard and sobering work that we are called upon to do, and our love and nurturing of the youth that are inheriting our legacy. This wall is truly a community wall, and it will prove to our community a feeling of love and sharing that goes beyond geographic boundaries and connects us all.
So if you’ve ever been inspired by one of our artist contributors, please help us. If you’ve ever been moved by music anywhere, please donate to our cause. Life is an amazing experience, made even more so by the soundtracks that musicians create for us to enjoy as we make our way through it.
With your help, we’ll do everything we can to keep the music alive, one musician at a time.
THE CAMPAIGN
In order to raise funds and awareness for the Steeple reconstruction project, Nuçi’s Space launched an online fundraising campaign via Indiegogo in 2014 to help raise the $250,000 needed to cover construction costs. With the help of local musicians, who donated merchandise and memorabilia, the campaign was able to reach a national audience. The following list of supporting musicians exemplifies what a special place Athens, Georgia is in the history of music: R.E.M., B-52s, Widespread Panic, Drive-By Truckers, Neutral Milk Hotel, Pylon, Danger Mouse, T. Hardy Morris, Drivin’ n Cryin’, Patterson Hood, of Montreal, Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records, and Cloud Recordings/Elephant 6.
In April of 2013, after two years of thoughtful planning and negotiations, Nuçi’s Space acquired the St. Mary’s Steeple. In August of that year, Nuçi’s Space received an anonymous donation from an “out of town” donor to be used to begin exploratory efforts to determine current condition and feasibility of restoring the famous St. Mary’s Church Steeple. Through the anonymous donation, Nuçi’s Space was able to hire Whitsel Construction to begin stabilization efforts to save the steeple.
