Phcc Inc

The Palmer Historical & Cultural Center (PHCC) seeks to provide the community of Palmer, Massachusetts and the surrounding area an accessible, open to the general public, venue to describe, preserve, and display its heritage, by hosting a variety of cultural events and activities of historical and performing arts nature for the local communities and the region to enjoy. 

Located in the Village of Three Rivers, PHCC is a multipurpose performance center and function hall that provides an intimate venue for live music, guest lectures, movie screenings, and other cultural events.  With adjacent parking off Main Street, PHCC is also a convenient space for celebrating life events and holding meetings.  The 1830s building was formerly home to the Union Evangelical Church, which sold the property for $1 to a newly created local non-profit group- PHCC, Inc.- in 2012.  The building features Harmony Hall, that can hold up to 160 people with theater-style seating or 80 people with function-style seating, and the Villages Room for small gatherings.  A warming kitchen is also available for use.  The Center also aims to add museum space featuring historical and period pieces from the local area in the near future. 

This repurposed church presents many challenges for future growth of the Center; lack of ramps and stair lifts make the building inaccessible to those with physical challenges, lack of air conditioning creates an uncomfortable environment during the hot summer months which limits the use of the building, the antiquated heating system is inefficient and costly to operate, and the lack of a Serve Safe kitchen  limits the types of rental uses.  Despite these challenges the dedicated Board of Directors and supporters of PHCC are committed to fulfilling the organization's mission to:

  *    provide a venue for performing artists

  *    host lectures on topics of local interest

  *    provide a venue where local historical items can be housed, displayed         and enjoyed by members of the public

  *    provide the community with an affordable facility for celebrating life   events and holding meetings

To accomplish their goals the PHCC Board of Directors created a successful membership program and an affordable rental rate schedule to fund operating costs. 

The success of PHCC is the direct result of the dedication of the all volunteer twelve member Board of Directors and community volunteers who donate countless hours to fulfill PHCC's mission.  PHCC has no paid employees so all tasks are undertaken by Board members and volunteers who do everything from maintenance to cleaning and scheduling to selling tickets at the door.  This dedication is why we can say in the past two years we have:

Thank you for taking the time to learn about PHCC.  Support from donors, members and the community is responsible for PHCCs success to date, but we can't grow and truly fulfill our mission without additional financial support to make the building more accessible, comfortable and affordable.  Please donate today to support our mission.  

"All of us, Pikeys, Ranters, pipers and readers, admire [Harmony H]all - aptly named because it really is harmonious - the acoustics and visual setting are beautiful.  There's something about all that wood - as a former church it was obviously built with acoustics in mind and the whole place just hums.  Add to that a culturally aware audience in comfortable seats and it makes for great vibes.  We love playing there." Rose Higgins, The Pikeys