The Copper Shop, Roycroft Campus, East Aurora, c 1915
The Roycroft Copper Shop, East Aurora
The Copper Shop, Roycroft Campus, East Aurora, c 1915
The building known as the Copper Shop is part
of the 14-building Roycroft Campus in East Aurora. The campus evolved under
the
leadership of Arts & Crafts legend, Elbert Hubbard, beginning around 1895.
The Copper Shop was constructed in 1902 of
local stone, half-timbered and stuccoed in the English cottage style. It was
first used
as a blacksmith shop and after additions for the manufacture of hammered copper
products, the bottling of maple syrup and honey,
and as the Roycroft Bank.
By 1938, the Roycroft enterprise was in bankruptcy, victim of the Depression and changing public tastes.
The Copper Shop, 2005.
The Roycroft Campus buildings found other
purposes, and the Copper Shop spent nearly 50 years as a gift shop selling items
made by modern Roycroft artisans. Interested preservationists succeeded in having
the campus named a National Historic Landmark
in 1986. The Roycroft Inn was completely
restored by a local foundation in 1995 and successfully operates in 2005 as
an inn.
In 2005, the Roycroft
Campus Corporation (formerly the Roycroft Revitalization Corporation) purchased
the Copper Shop as part
of its long-term plan to restore the Roycroft Campus as it was when the Roycrofters
were at work. In the short term, the group's
goal is to restore the Copper Shop for initial use as retail, administrative,
and workshop/demonstration space as well as to serve
as the visitor center for the many curious Arts & Crafts aficionados who
find their way to the campus. The long-term plan is
to return the Copper Shop to a working metalsmith shop and copperworks museum.