In many small cities and towns, the hardware store functions like a corner store of sorts – a hitching post, a place to talk about the weather, a grapevine, a bottomless resource; as John Steinbeck described his Cannery Row, “a miracle of supply.”

For 100 years, the Lewis Hardware store on the west side of Front Street, near the intersection with NW Alder Place, was just that. More than a century after it opened it is still fondly remembered by Issaquah locals as an anchor of the community.

In 2007, Lewis Hardware closed it doors for the last time, and in the 3 years since it has remained unoccupied, as the owners complete retrofit work on the old building, and a depressed economy stifles business expansion.

But now, a new future for the iconic building has emerged – as a community art center.

Executive Director of Issaquah-based nonprofit ArtEast, Karen Abel, recently outlined her organization’s plans to move from their current home in the UpFront, a few doors down from Jak’s Grill on Front Street. In the years since ArtEast began in 2004, it has expanded its offering of programs and activities so much they have grown beyond the 1,200 square feet of UpFront.

Abel, who’s recent acclamation as Issaquah Business Person of the Year speaks to her astute management of the nonprofit in these tough economic times, sees a tremendous opportunity to build a bigger and more active arts center in Issaquah. And she thinks the Lewis Hardware building is the perfect place to do it.

“Lewis Hardware played a huge role in this community, and it still has a place in many people’s hearts,” she said. “What is unique about this opportunity is that we could not just build a community arts center, but we would be able to celebrate and retain the building as a community asset, in a way that, perhaps, other businesses couldn’t.”

At an ArtEast board meeting on Tuesday night, members voted to proceed with a preliminary pledge drive, to gauge the level of support in the community for the expansion. Abel said they have set themselves a goal of raising $20,000 in pledges by June 11.

She said the community-based nature of an arts center would pay appropriate tribute to what was already a beloved community gathering place.

At 3,250 square feet it would allow ArtEast the space it needs to provide more classes, entertain more locals and visitors, and keep pace with the energy for art and learning that Abel said is surging through the region.

“There is without a doubt the desire and the demand from the marketplace,” Abel said. “We hear this from the people who are taking workshops, from our members, from customers, from people walking though the door and asking for this kind of environment.”

Abel recognizes that such an expansion is not a step that many four-year-old nonprofits take.

“Most art nonprofits are at least a decade old before they take a step like that,” she said, pointing to the Kirkland Arts Center and the Mercer Island Visual Arts League as local examples. “But we are feeling a push for more activities, for more workshops. It was this push that made us start asking that question in the first place.”

Abel said Issaquah was perfectly placed to take advantage of regional expansion.

“There is significant growth in our neck of the woods – along the Interstate 90 corridor, and down to Maple Valley,” she said. “And the demand for art space, for gathering places, places to exhibit and work together, really isn’t being met. Issaquah is right in the middle of this growing, vibrant arts community.”

And, as Abel points out, Front Street is the center of the Issaquah arts universe. Along with UpFront Gallery, Front Street houses eight music schools, a dance school, four art instruction businesses, and Village Theatre’s two stages.

“Very quickly and naturally, Front Street has become the gathering place,” Abel said.

City of Issaquah Economic Development Manager Dan Trimble agrees.

“The city’s master plan for that area is as a cultural, arts and business district. Definitely, an expansion of the art activities they provide would be seen as a positive for Front Street,” he said.

Trimble said Issaquah had seen first hand the positive economic affect that a strong cultural anchor organization could have on the surrounding area, through the tremendous success of Village Theatre, where plays, musicals and workshops bring people from all over America to Front Street.

“Whatever I would say would understate the value of Village Theatre to the city,” Trimble said.

Issaquah Chamber of Commerce CEO Matt Bott said that idea of ArtEast continuing to develop into a regional attraction was a good thing for local business.

“We are thrilled to see one of our local organizations in the arts field looking to expand and grow,” he said. “Downtown Issaquah is an outstanding hub of art, culture, business and community. Any attraction that brings in regional tourists, to spend the day, or spend the night, eat at our restaurants, have a look around, there is always a pretty big multiplier effect for other local businesses.”

A few doors up from the old Lewis Hardware store is Fischer Meats, which shares a long history with Issaquah.

“When the hardware store was open, it was the oldest continually operating business in the city,” he said. “Now we are. We have been here for 100 years.”

Though he hadn’t heard of ArtEast’s proposed move into the bigger building, he welcomed their expansion.

“There is a lot of art and music and activity like that down here on Front Street,” he said. “Every now and then I’ll have a customer in here who will say their son or daughter is having a music lesson down the road. It isn’t a lot, but it’s something, and every little bit counts. If ArtEast are looking to build an art center, that could be something really good for the city.”

Want to help? Visit www.arteast.org. to pledge, sign up as a member, or show your support for the development of an arts center in Issaquah.