By Jessica Legge Borders
FAIRMONT — The Friendly City has a new destination spot.
Patricia and Richard Pagan have transformed the former People’s Temple into Gatherings LLC, a new entertainment venue in downtown Fairmont. The facility is also available for wedding ceremonies, receptions, meetings and events.
The historic building, constructed at 216 Monroe St. in 1896, was the former church home of Gov. Francis H. Pierpont, the “Father of West Virginia.” Pierpont served as the guest of honor during the grand opening in 1897.
About 11 years ago, Patricia started giving tours of downtown Fairmont and fell in love with the People’s Temple. When the building became available, she and Richard knew it would be a great place for both weddings and entertainment.
Before opening Gatherings, the Pagans mainly did work on the plaster and the heating and electrical systems. Patricia said the structure remained in pretty good shape over the years.
“For the most part, we’re trying to keep everything the same,” she said. “The only major renovation that we did was we made a bride’s ready room that is probably the best in the region.”
Patricia said the facility, which measures about 12,000 square feet, features 42 stained glass windows. The chapel side holds 220 people and has a big dome with a stained glass skylight. The reception hall area has ceilings that are two stories high.
“The building is surprisingly huge inside,” she said. “It’s very open. It’s pretty impressive.”
Gatherings LLC officially started hosting weddings this summer. Seven or eight weddings have been held there since then, and couples have booked the chapel for next year. Patricia and Richard’s daughter, Rebekah Pagan, was just married to Adam Cross at the venue.
Parables Events LLC, an entertainment company that Patricia started in May 2006, is headquartered out of Gatherings. Nov. 14 marked the official opening of the building as a public entertainment center.
This was the first ticketed show where people could see Parables Events at the venue. The Parables Players presented a dinner theater event called “Trouble at the Tropicabana,” which was filled with both comedy and mystery.
“It was very well received,” Patricia said.
Parables Events will continue to use the facility to host shows for private parties, such as bus tours.
“I foresee great things because of the beauty of the building,” she said. “I definitely see that this is going to be very beneficial to Parables.”
Companies have also used the facility for team-building activities, and area organizations are taking advantage of the space as well, Patricia said. The Fairmont Council of Churches met at the building last week, and in December, the Arts and Humanities Commission will show artwork at Gatherings as part of the Feast of the Seven Fishes Festival.
“We just really want to be a gathering place in downtown Fairmont,” she said.
A lot of interested people have been contacting Gatherings LLC about holding special events there.
“I’m very surprised because people are finding us through word of mouth,” Patricia said. “It’s been amazing.”
When people come to Gatherings for an event, Patricia usually ends up giving the guests a tour of the building. She said visitors are always amazed that a space that beautiful exists downtown, and they love the oak and stained glass windows. As an added bonus, these out-of-towners generally spend money in Fairmont.
“We’re really working on becoming the destination spot in downtown Fairmont that can help grow everything around it,” Patricia said. “That’s our goal.”
For more information, call Gatherings LLC at 304-657-7113.
E-mail Jessica Legge Borders at jlegge@timeswv.com.
