Arts and Culture in Gainesville&Alachua County

The Thomas Center

Spanish Court Photo by Gary Paul

Spanish Court
Situated at the heart of the Thomas Center, the Spanish Court rises two stories to a full skylight. It is sur-
rounded by a colonnade and second story Mezzanine area.
This room is perfect for meetings, events, , luncheons or as a performance space. For a cere-mony or meeting, it seats 100-120 people auditorium style, for a social, it seats 120 at tables with a dance floor.

The Long Gallery
Adjoining the Spanish Court
with five sets of double doors
on the south wall, this long
room is fully paneled in walnut,
has two fireplaces, and
carpeting. This room is used
for social events, luncheons
and meetings. It is also used
for food/drink/cake/gifts, etc.
Outside catering is permitted
or you can provide your own
food and drink. For meetings, it seats 60 auditorium style or for socials, it seats 70 at tables.

Long Gallery

Meeting Rooms
The Thomas Center has various meeting rooms available. Room 102, the Sam Gowan History Room, off the northeast corner of the Spanish Court, contains a conference table that seats twelve people. Room 105, the Lucille Maloney Room, contains a conference table that seats eighteen people. Located on the lower level, Gallery A seats forty people and the kitchen area is also used for meeting space.

Room 105

Rates
The Thomas Center provides a unique, historic and versatile space for memorable events of all types. A $100 non-refundable deposit is required to reserve a date for an event. This deposit will be applied to the balance due and is non-transferable to other City departments. All fees, including a $300 security deposit, must be paid in full one month prior to the event. Events scheduled in the garden require a $75.00 security deposit. Rental and personnel fees must include the total duration of time for access required by caterer, florist, agent or user, etc. as well as sufficient time for complete clean up of the leased premises. 1½ hours set up and 1½ hours for clean up is required when using one room. 2 hours set up and 1½ hours for clean up is required when using multiple rooms. Payment may be made by cash, check or VISA. Photo shoots are allowed during your rental date/time frame. If another date is selected by the renter you are required to pay the photo shoot fee.

LOCATION/ROOM	SOCIAL		MEETING		NON-PROFIT MEETING
	Weekday (8am-5pm)	Evening/ Weekend	Weekday (8am-5pm)	Evening/ Weekend	Weekday (8am-5pm)	Evening/ Weekend
Spanish Court	$24.00/hr	$44.00/hr	$19.00/hr	$32.50/hr	$12.50/hr	$19.00/hr
Long Gallery	$20.00/hr	$32.50/hr	$13.50/hr	$25.00/hr	$8.50/hr	$13.50/hr
Spanish Court & Long Gallery	$38.00/hr	$73.50/hr	$25.00/hr	$49.00/hr	$16.00/hr	$25.00/hr
Meeting Room 102	$11.50/hr	$20.00/hr	$10.50/hr	$18.00/hr	$9.50/hr	$11.50/hr
Meeting Room 105	N/A	N/A	$12.50/hr	$21.00/hr	$11.50/hr	$12.50/hr
Kitchen	$17.00/hr	$27.00/hr	$6.50/hr	$7.50/hr	$5.50/hr	$6.50/hr
Gallery A or B	$7.50/hr	$17.00/hr	$6.50/hr	$10.50/hr	$6.50/hr	$9.50/hr
Thomas Center West Gardens	$31.50/hr	$32.50/hr	Seats 200-300 for a ceremony
Theatre or Turtle Court	$16.00/hr	$27.00/hr	Seats 150 for a ceremony
Commercial Film Shoot	Daily Rate - $315.00/day Prep Days - $157.50/day
Photo Shoot	Inside facilities or gardens - $52.00/hr
Porches	All times - $10.50/hr West Veranda Porch - seats 40 at tables
Period Room	All times - $31.50/hr
Hallway	If used for anything but access - $16.00/hr
Mezzanine Area	All times - $16.00/hr Mezzanine seats 50 people
Wedding Rehearsals	$17.00/hr

Photo Courtesy of Photography 35

Turtle Court

EQUIPMENT RENTAL		Period Room Photo by Gary Paul
Tables (round 48") seats 6	$7.50/ea
Tables (round 60") seats 8-10	$7.50/ea
Tables (rectangular 6' ) seats 6	$7.50/ea
Tables (rectangular 8') seats 8	$7.50/ea
Brown padded chairs	$1.00/ea
Wedding white chairs	$2.00/ea
Podium	$26.00
Overhead Projector/screen	$26.00
Slide Projector/screen	$26.00
25" TV & VCR	$21.00
Grand piano	$44.00
Upright piano	$22.00

Personnel Fee $17.00/hr
One staff person is required for events accommodating up to 100 people; 100-200 people will require two staff persons; events over 200 will require three staff persons.The Building Attendant staff is required to be at the site the full duration of each scheduled event.

Thomas Center Building Staff Responsibilities are:
• Set up City equipment according to the contract agreed upon by the renter and the Thomas Center Management. For liability    purposes, building staff is restricted to handling City owned equipment only. Guests/renters may not move or pick up City    equipment.
• Make any last minute adjustments to the set up that may be necessary, in keeping with the Thomas Center rules.
• Monitor the event for spills, smoking, excess trash, adequate supplies in restrooms and safety hazards.
• Handle emergency situations (such as accidents, plumbing or electrical emergencies, fire or security alarms) by calling the    appropriate authorities and/or clearing visitors from the building.
• Provide and maintain a clean and safe environment for the renters use, to include entrances, restrooms, and rented spaces.    The building staff are not security guards. Users are responsible for personal belongings.
• Clean up after event.
Staff will remain visible and available, using the desk in the hallway as a base of operations.

State tax of 6.25% is charged on all fees. Non-profit organizations must present proof of tax exempt status when paying fees.

Smoking is not allowed in any part of the Thomas Center. Fires, candles, sparklers or other ignited objects are not permitted at the sight, or anything which causes a high concentration of particulates i.e. (dust, vapor, smoke, snow, glitter, etc.) to be in the air, as this may activate the halon fire extinguisher system. If this regulation is disregarded and the fire extinguisher system is discharged, the lessee is liable for the cost of recharging the system.

Nothing is allowed to be thrown on the premises, including the outdoor gardens; i.e. rice, birdseed, confetti, glitter, silly string, bubbles, sparklers, flower petals etc. If this regulation is disregarded, a fee of $79.00 will be assessed from the security deposit.

All decorations must be installed without defacing the building and are subject to prior approval. During the month of December, the facility is decorated with holiday decorations (30 ft. tree in the Spanish Court, wreaths and greenery throughout the period rooms, hall, room 105 and the Long Gallery).

No kegs are allowed inside the facility; porches must be rented if kegs are used.

At the conclusion of the event, the lessee is required to clear the facility of all materials brought into the Thomas Center. Items left may be discarded and a charge of $26.50 will be assessed from the security deposit. If arrangements are made for later pick-up a storage charge of $52.50 will be assessed from the security deposit.

Photo by Gary Paul

The Thomas Center facilities staff will be happy to answer any of your questions and also provide a tour of the facility. For further information on scheduling an event at the Thomas Center, please contact:

Kerstin Sapp
Station 30, P.O. Box 490
Gainesville, FL 32602
(352) 393- 8539
Email: sappkm@cityofgainesville.org