Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology has given The .918 Club the opportunity to turn the old Naval Reserve building on their branch campus into the Heritage Press Education Center. The Naval Reserve building, constructed during the Korean War, is a one story 3,000 sq ft cinder block building without insulation, lighting, heat or air-conditioning. The renovations to the building will include significant energy upgrades, replacement windows, wall treatments, lighting and other updates to ensure that our historical equipment is optimally maintained and there is ample studio space for classes. All equipment and supplies for the facility are presently owned by The .918 Club.
After renovations, the Naval Reserve building, will become a center for students of the Visual Communications curriculum to experience traditional printing technologies. It will also be a center for the community to learn letterpress printing, bookbinding, papermaking, and typography. As community members and students are introduced to the book arts, they will have the opportunity to use the studio to experiment with typographic form and physical composition of the printed page.
The small space we presently occupy in the Branch Campus building has limited the number of individuals who can participate in letterpress workshops. Our original studio space in downtown Lancaster was four times the size of our present location so we have a large amount of equipment in storage. With the restoration of the Naval Reserve building, the increased space will enable us to increase workshop participation and to remove equipment from storage for use and public display in the new facility.
We exist only because of your financial support and the dedication of volunteers who share a passion for preserving the past and making it relevant to current and future generations.