There was comedy, music, talks, an art exhibition, a Snow Queen’s Kingdom and a Christmas market with festive food and drink at Hornsey Town Hall in Crouch End.
Community groups pulled together to put on the entertainment and many were eager see the refurbished 1930s gem, whose redevelopment into a hotel, flats and an arts centre has been plagued with delays.
Hornsey Town Hall campaigner David Winskill said: “The day was extraordinary!
“For the first time for eight years the building was full of people exploring, discovering and enjoying themselves. Fire marshalls on site said it looked like 5,000 people went through the newly opened front doors.
“The quality of the restoration of the building is terrific.”
The team behind the annual Crouch End Festival worked with Hornsey Town Hall to put on the craft market, a music stage run by Crossover Jazz Room, and the comedy night run by Downstairs at the Kings Head.
Mr Winskill added: “All the hard work paid off. We now have to keep the momentum going and get local people involved in creating an attractive and viable programme of arts events for this wonderful building.”
After the Christmas tree lights were switched on in Town Hall Square there was a spectacular light show across the facade of the building, which used to house council offices.
Crouch End Festival director Chris Arnold said the building had been “amazingly restored” by developers Far East Consortium, although some areas have yet to be finished.
“Many of the locals who came to see the building have never been inside this listed Art Deco masterpiece, and they enjoyed a great day of entertainment,” he said.
“The Assembly Hall was packed full of craft stalls overflowing with a fantastic range of goods from local makers and four local community choirs performed during the day including Songworks, which fielded a choir of more than 100 people and was raising funds for Hornsey Food Bank, and The Hap’ning Place Christmas Choir, who were fundraising for Great Ormond Street Hospital.
“Every event was sold out – including a packed out talk from arts writer Katy Hessel and Rohan Candappa’s one man show.
“Hopefully this is the first stage in recreating a new community arts centre for both Crouch End and the borough – it will be a key venue when Haringey is the Borough of Culture in 2027.”
Sue Davidson, a trustee of Hornsey Town Hall Trust and co-chair of Crouch End Open Studios, which staged an art show in the restored Committee Room, said: “The launch event was a resounding success. The whole building was bustling with people from the moment the doors opened. We had thousands come to visit the exhibition including lots of families, which was lovely.
“It is very exciting to be back in the town hall and we are looking forward to future exhibitions, shows and concerts taking place in this magnificent building.”
Lewis Freeman, whose family have run Dunns bakery for six generations, was serving up mince pies and sausage rolls.
He said: “It was a privilege to join in the festivities on the town hall‘s grand opening! It was a brilliant day and incredibly busy. We were re-stocking our stalls constantly. It was great to see so many people here exploring and enjoying being back in this stunning building.
“The Town Hall is a cornerstone of Crouch End and a much adored building. Seeing it come back to life again is great news for local traders and residents alike.”
Crouch End Open Studios exhibition runs until Thursday December 11 from midday to 6pm with artists donating 10 per cent of all sales to the charity allpeopleallplaces.org, supporting homeless people in Haringey.
