HISTORY | MISSION | PEOPLE

THE GARDEN

The Maas Garden - which in 2008, was entirely covered in black asphalt with nothing green growing except weeds, was excavated and begun in earnest in 2009 - and has been a work in progress ever since, that - after a few tough years establishing some young green things, just grows more and more beautiful every year.  After putting in the garden shed, Catherine designed the winding path of cobblestones and plantings that interact with the courtyard’s natural layout.  Every year, we train vines, maintain the bushes and trees, plant new things, and tend to this garden that never ceases to amaze us.  The Maas Garden, in a sense, represents the growth of Maas, our family and community.  Every year better than the last, every year more magical, more sheltering, more like an calm oasis in the middle of Philadelphia with all its tensions and anxieties.  During the pandemic, we opened the garden to many more community events and have felt that sharing this with our community has become a valuable part of what we do.

MAAS HISTORY

The MAAS Building, originally built in 1859 as the Charles Maas Brewery, later became a candle factory and eventually a trolley car repair shop for the Girard St trolley line. By 2008 its original industrial uses were long in the past and the building had fallen into disrepair, being used as storage for an architectural salvage business. A hole in the roof had caused a lot of water damage and one of the main trusses had failed. The original facade was boarded up. 

Musician Ben Riesman and nurse-practitioner Catherine Birdsall had recently moved to Philadelphia from Oakland, CA, and fell in love with Philadelphia’s historical architecture and the industrial buildings that surrounded them where they landed in the Kensington neighborhood.  Looking for a live-work property where they could make a family home and build a recording studio, they came across the rambling compound of the Maas Building - which, to be sure, was a much larger space and project than they originally envisioned. Past the boarded-up windows and crumbling façade – they imagined a place that could house not just a recording studio, but multiple creative spaces, with space to boot for concerts and gatherings.  Inspired by the property itself, their vision expanded from a private home and small business to something more public and community-oriented.  A small inheritance from Ben’s father allowed them to make a down payment on the building, and they moved into the small house on site (now known as “The Cottage”), and began to nurse the Maas Building back to life.  

Work began: they brought in a structural engineer to fix the broken truss, a new roof was put on, and gradually the building began to awaken into a new existence.  Inspired by its industrial past, the Maas Building’s rehab was designed to incorporate modern ideas into the existing industrial structure: the facade is a combination of old arched windows and modern glass and steel design.  High-efficiency radiant-tube heating was installed in finished floors of polished concrete, and the soaring high ceilings expose Maas’ original bones.  Ben, a self-confessed  “C+ carpenter at best” at the start of the project, did a lot of the work himself, eventually becoming a full-blown licensed contractor.  Many hours of blood, sweat and tears later, the building was ready to begin on the next stage of its life: in 2010, a theater company (New Paradise Laboratories), a modern dance company (Subcircle), and Ben’s recording studio (Hi5 Recording) became the Maas Building’s first tenants, setting the course for establishing Maas as a creative hub in the Philadelphia arts community. 

That trajectory has continued and expanded - and after countless performances, concerts, screenings, exhibitions, receptions and all other sorts of happenings, the Maas Building is today a firm fixture on the map of arts & culture venues in Philadelphia.   

MAAS MISSION

Since 2008, The MAAS Building has been a home for the arts: hosting musical shows, dance performances, theater showcases and mixed-use artist residencies. We are here to welcome, support and uplift our community of artists and patrons - who are as diverse as the city of Philadelphia. 

For 15 years, we've collaborated with some of the city's brightest and best to produce outstanding cultural programming that is affordable, accessible and enriching to the community. Organizations we've hosted include Pig Iron Theatre, Lightning Rod Special, The Painted Bride, Ars Nova Workshop, Fire Museum Presents and PHonk! Festival. 

Every year we work in partnership with Almanac Dance Circus to run Cannonball Festival, an independently-produced performing arts festival that runs concurrent with the Philadelphia Fringe, which aims to provide high-impact production opportunities for under-resourced performers. Miniball, a shorter, week-long version of the festival, is held at MAAS every April during Philadelphia Theatre Week.

Throughout the summer MAAS hosts regular Garden Bars, opening up our large outdoor space for a series of public musical concerts that have seen performances from Snack Time, West Philadelphia Orchestra and many others. Jazz Nights take place every month and many artists also make MAAS their regular weekly rehearsal space. Every January - March, MAAS runs a series of month-long artist residencies, providing the space at no cost to an artist or arts organization to develop and produce a new project.

Outside of the arts, we also make a priority of donating the space at discount to NPOs and charities looking for venues for workshops, classes or fundraisers.

Above all, MAAS is a space for the community. Our clients come from all disciplines, backgrounds and sectors, and we are committed to providing everyone who performs, hosts or uses the MAAS Building with a beautiful space and a dedicated event team who will promote, champion and uplift their work, helping it reach and benefit a wide audience.