Photos

Below are some of the historical photos that have been preserved over the years. We are always in search of additional photos that depict life at the Old Village School in the early years. As you see in these photos, the exterior of the building has been remarkably preserved over the years and there have been no recognizable architectural changes since the opening of the old schoolhouse in 1874. If you have any photos you would like to share, please email info@oldvillageschool.com or call 802-588-2144.

A basketball team photo from 1950-51.

An early class photo taken on the south side of the building, where the stairs to the basement apartment are currently located.

A very early class photo taken on the south steps of the Old Village School - currently the entrance for The Dragonfly's Den salon.

An early class photo taken directly in front of the building under the windows of the Pilates studio.

An early class photo taken on the north steps of the Old Village School (the current entry for Rising Spirit Yoga) - notice the children with no shoes.

An early class photo taken in front of the school. The exterior of the school still looks exactly as it did in the early years.

This is the classroom that is now serving as the yoga, pilates and tai chi studio for Rising Spirit Yoga.

An original postcard postmarked Dec. 31, 1925. Notice the beautiful tree in what is currently the parking lot.

An original postcard postmarked Dec. 31, 1925. The note reads, "It has been snowing about all day up this way. Missed trains in all directions so am having to wait for a time here. -Helene".

Below are some of the Fichiera's interior renovations. Most of our early effort after buying the building (October 2008-February 2009) was spent remodeling the yoga, pilates and tai chi studio, so they could have a viable use for the building. The room hadn't been consistently used in over 30 years and the school textbooks were still sitting on the bookshelves from when the school closed in the early 1970's. The ceiling was replaced, the old wallpaper removed, the walls repaired and painted, all lighting replaced and the floors refinished. Rising Spirit Yoga is currently seeing more than 100 students per week in yoga, pilates, tai chi and music classes.

Once the yoga studio opened in Feburary '09, the first tenants arrived. According to Paul Fichiera, Reiki Retreat and Healing Visions revitalized the downstairs area by painting and decorating.

In the summer of 2009, Paul and his crew spent a lot of time renovating the belltower studio. This studio is located directly below the school's belltower and was once used as a science classroom. Luckily, the old periodic table survived the years of water damage to the ceiling and walls. This studio hadn't been used since the school closed in the 70's other than serving as a file room for the law office that occupied the building in the 90's. They patched all the cracked walls, scraped and painted the wainscot ceiling, refinished the floors, installed a heating system and repaired the old chalkboards. Since the rehabilitation, Rodeo & Co moved their photography studio into the space.

In the fall of 2009, Paul began the process of renovating the studio formerly occupied by the WYKR radio station. This studio had been used for the past 20 years as an unpermitted apartment, but it was no longer allowed to be used as a residential space per the rules/regulations of the Town of Newbury. Still setup as an apartment when the building was acquired, there was no viable commmercial use for the space. After a short marketing period, a successful local salon, The Dragonfly's Den, became attracted to the building, and the renovations began. Over the course of 4 months, improvements included:

New electrical wiring
A new ceiling
Replacement of the historic front door
Restoration of the original chalkboards
A new bathroom
New drywall and wainscotting on the walls
Refinished hardwood floors
All new paint and new plumbing

This was by far Paul's most ambitious renovation, and we are now lucky to have a full building of exciting businesses and ambitious business owners.

We hope you enjoy the photos!!

The first Fichiera renovation, the downstairs bathroom before the renovation.

The downstairs bathroom after the renovation.

The "belltower" (Rodeo & Co.) studio before the renovation.

The "belltower" (Rodeo & Co.) studio after the renovation.

Another photo of the "belltower" (Rodeo & Co.) studio after the renovation.

The North foyer (entrance to the salon) had replaced the historic door with this fire door.

Some great carpentry to bring the North foyer back to its original character.

The current pilates studio (old principal's office) before the renovation.

The first tenants (Healing Visions/Reiki Retreat) transformed this space into a beautiful place to practice Reiki.

The former WYKR radio station had been converted to an apartment in the 90's. In pretty bad shape when the Fichieras took over.

The old apartment/WYKR studio transformed into a multi-purpose salon - hair, tanning, massage and nails.

Another photo of the salon before the renovations.

Another photo of the salon after the renovations.

The salon bathroom prior to the renovations.

The salon bathroom after the renovations.

The upstairs studio/classroom (now Rising Spirit Yoga) prior to renovations. Many of the school textbooks from the '70's were still on the shelves when the Fichieras took over.

The upstairs classroom transformed into a yoga, pilates, tai chi studio.

Another photo of Rising Spirit Yoga after the renovations.