Opened in 1903 as Arcadia Mills No. 1. The mill was purchased in 1934 by Mayfair Mills Co and closed in 2001. Though Mayfair Mills was not shut down by the General Strike of 34, their own strike of 1932 expressed the urgency and necessity of mass direct action. Mill No. 1 and No. 2 have been renovated into apartment complexes. The front of Mill No. 1 serves as the home of Mayfair Art Studios. Run by the Chapman Cultural Center, Mayfair Art Studios hosts private art studios on the second floor, and a dance studio, clay room, and community space on the first floor. Mayfair Mills is the only one of my sites that remains intact. Knowing the amount of artisans and craftsmen that once occupied that space, filling that space with artists and community is an act of reclamation.
