About time they closed it! While it was a unique area it was also very dangerous. You have an area where you can have a couple hundred people and only ONE entrance / exit. Sorry two exits, the asbestos ridden stairwells or to jump off the roof if something happened!

hey alayna my friend....thanks for the kind words and support.....we need all the help we can get at our not for profit self funded event / art space. you are a true artist at heart and understand first hand, the struggle of keeping a unique and important space afloat!! i do now and will always go to record archive.....can't beat the atmosphere or the prices! as for angry bob.....what do you think we were trying to do up there??? we had people working their butts off night and day trying to make it a beautiful and safe space for an event. when was the last time you were at artisanworks? are you from rochester? if so you should support your hometown attractions.....and just not be so mean....maybe you should take up painting??

I wasn't trying to mean at all. I did like it there. Our guys donated most of your display in the fire house. That's why we took action with the roof. We would be the ones that would of had to rescue the people up there if there was a problem during your events because of the hazards up there! I also support Artisan Works as a BUSINESS, not as a not for profit entity, so they can bend the rules. I go there a few times a year for events, Autism, Dream Factory, Make A wish, CDS ( when you used to support them), Art Loves Jazz, Unifeat, Mommies for Miracles, HUGS and a few other childrens fundraisers and I know what they are charged!!! A not for profit group being charged like they are by a supposed not for profit artisanworks is vulgar. A side point, the floor is the Marilyn Room is cover with creosote, no matter what they covered it with and it is a carsoagenic, so I would be concerned with that when you bring your daughter in there when you paint in "your" studio. And your are right maybe I should take up painting (does that make me shrink too?). And I am still a big vinyl fan, , That's why I still support the Record Archive!!!

bob....i am now assuming you are a firefighter....yes?? if you must know we ARE a not for profit.....we do NOT charge vulgar amounts of money for events. we put on amazing events for amazing friends and clients. the only way to do this is to charge for it. did you know we are the only not for profit art space that gets no outside help or funding from the state or the government.....not from anyone. we are completely on our own. try paying a $100,000.00 a year electric bill without any help. we struggle everyday of every week of every month to do this.....just so we can help other not for profits put on a great event to raise money for their cause. oh....and the money we get goes into our incubator artist program. this is where our core artists go out into the community and help older adults at senior living centers and nursing homes....etc. we work with school groups.....and children's camps. as far as other not for profits....guess what??? they make money too....they have to pay the people that work there to keep their establishment up and running. i worked at the george eastman house for many years.....they are a not for profit museum AND event space. and you know what??? they charge huge for their events and they get funding and grants and endowments from everywhere and everyone. not knocking them, they are wonderful....i just wanted to sight an educated example. but, they too have to have events to keep their doors open....LIKE US!!! i realize i am spouting off passionately .....but, i truly love artisanworks. if you are a firefighter and care so much about not for profits....why don't you figure out a way to help us instead of, well.......being mean..... oh, and maybe i am thick, but, i have no idea what your "shrink" comment means. peace and whimsy april

"Not For Profit" is a sly way of avoiding taxes, often under the guise of self-righteousness. People often say they work for a "Non-Profit" as if they are being selfless or something. When in reality they get paid "a lot" of money as an employee. They should be abolished so as to stop scamming the tax paying public and begin contributing to it.

As far as experiencing "culture". Art is one very small aspect of culture. One can experience true culture just going to the grocery store if they decide to look for it. To say that Arts=Culture is just plain egotism on the part of artists.

in reality....DM.....no one at artisanworks gets paid a lot of money. you can't be serious. another reality is that we DO pay taxes. get your info straight before you start the insults. as far as culture.....i don't remember saying we were the ONLY culture in town or that the visual arts is the only thing that equals culture.....however if you were to visit you would see that we embrace the culinary arts....performing arts as well as the visual. i believe that many rochesterians do not take advantage of the beauty that is their own hometown attractions.....for example, visiting the eastman house, seeing an RPO concert, eating at a privately owned establishment....visiting the memorial art gallery.....how about the lamberton conservatory??? all of us at artisanworks frequent these places and support them. i am not sure what artists you are referring to when you talk about "EGO" but, i can tell you that most of the artists i know are kind, humble and maybe even a little insecure. i think you have some other angry agenda that you are dealing with....so stop putting words in my mouth. maybe some of the artists you have dealt with have egos.....does that mean all of them do? are you a profiler?? i wish you people would just come to artisanworks....ask if april is working and talk to me face to face. this is why i don't like computers, it is just another form of road rage....blog rage. and by the way....i work my butt off there 7 days a week.....so most likely i will be there if you decide to stop by. we are open to the public fri...sat...sun. we can't afford to turn our lights on anymore days than that. april

I work in the building that also houses Artisan Works, although I work in an office on the third floor, in the end of the building that is closer to Winton Road. I too love the rooftop of the building, which has been turned into a virtual palette of colors and textures, sculptures, and other works of original art. However, the folks who so creatively assembled that collection began building a very large party house on the roof without ever conducting a thorough engineering review of the building's structural integrity. I've worked in my office up there for three years, and I can tell you from first-hand experience that the roof is in TERRIBLE condition. Every time it rains, parts of the ceiling come down, sometimes inside our office! It is downright scarey, because our secretary almost got hit by a falling ceiling tile, and other times paintings in the hallway have been destroyed by rivuletes of waters flowing down the walls. So I must agree, I was relieved when the City stepped in and halted the progress of the building on top of the roof. I can only imagine the carnage if the roof gave way and that entire structure came crashing through from above. But all that being said, the rooftop if NOT closed. We still eat our lunch up there most summer days, and continue to enjoy the scenery and creativity that went into its design.