 There’s excitement in the air– can you hear it? It’s beaming with the promise of something new, something exhilarating, something different.
If you’ve stopped by recently to the little-on-the-outside, massive-where-it-matters building at Auburn Ave. and First Street downtown, you’ve probably noticed it. Heard the pounding of construction, smelled the fresh scents of sawdust, and felt the novelty: something is on the horizon.
Trust that intuition, because Auburn’s Postmark Center for the Arts is expanding its building, converting the lower level into something more — more room for artists to work, more tools for students to learn, and more of the community to come together. To learn, to create, to experience — all in Auburn.
“The Postmark is the beating heart of arts downtown,” says Arts Assistant Amanda Jenkinson, who has been involved with the center since before its opening. “It is for and by the community.”
Built in 1937, the former post office was converted into our city’s arts and cultural center in 2023, offering public programs like music and dance performances, visual exhibitions, arts educational classes, literary events, and other cultural gatherings.
Initially left unfinished due to funding constraints, the lower level’s potential was revisited after a year of successful programming and strong community demand. Almost $2 million in grant funds have helped transform the building, including nearly $1 million from a Washington State Heritage Capital grant for the renovation of the lower level.
One volunteer is longtime resident Amy Sie. For her, the Postmark’s expansion is an opportunity for community building and cultural exchange.
“We must individually learn how to form communities in our neighborhoods,” she says. “Through the arts, people can speak to each other without as many difficulties. The arts capture the cultures of everybody.”
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