Headquarters
The Headquarters of The Augustan Society, Inc., needs a bit of definition, as it has not always been clear what and where it is.
Contents
Present
The official and legal Headquarters of The Augustan Society, Inc., is presently located in the home of Bruce A. Metcalf in Orlando, Florida. Activities at this location include office work, printing, binding, shipping, storage of office supplies, maintenance of equipment, and a small stock of material for sale. Unfortunately, the space available and zoning restrictions prevent volunteers from working at this location.
The mailing address of the Society is PO Box 771267, Orlando FL 32877-1267, United States. This post office is located at 1701 W Wetherbee Rd, Orlando, FL 32837, United States.
The Society rents four storage units at ExtraSpace Storage, 13125 S John Young Pkwy, Orlando, FL 32837, United States. The entrance is actually on Substation Road. The units are:
- 207, 5×5' — Furniture Room, containing same, including spare library shelving, plastic tubs, and the collection of the Noble Company of the Rose.
- 906, 10×20' — Museum Storage, containing the former museum collection. This unit presently has aisles for access, but it's unclear if these can be maintained.
- 947, 7×25' — File Room, containing Society records, insignia, back issues, Order records, family history files, maps (including a large map cabinet), and equipment storage. This room is well lit, and contains a small desk.
- 955, 23×24' — Library Stacks, containing both cataloged and uncataloged books and magazines on library shelving. Because the collection is larger than the available shelving, some items have been packed for storage, but remain accessable on request. There is room for visiting scholars here, though accommodations are spartan.
Keys or combinations to the above are held only by the Metcalfs at this time. ExtraSpace Storage has been informed that former President Charles Drake, OAE, is permitted to access our units. Copies of the keys and the combinations will be distributed to members of the Board annually or as time and funding permit.
It has also been proposed that items of Society property located at the Metcalfs' home be clearly marked, and this has begun. The marking program will continue with equipment and furnishings held in storage as time and access permit.
Previous
Following is what's belived to be a complete listing. It is believed that during the gaps between these locations, the Society's materials were in storage.
Villa Augusti
Located in Daggett, California, a few miles east of Barstow, the Villa Augusti was a collection of buildings, formerly used as a home and chicken breeding station, and later as a drug manufacturing and sales location. Headquarters from 31 January 1999 through April 2007.
Boron
Headquarters from March 1998 through 30 January 1999.
Oroville
Headquarters from June 1997 through March 1998.
Sartori Avenue, Torrance
Headquarters from (1986 or later) through June 1997.
Cravens Avenue, Torrance
The Cravens Avenue address was the Society's first public headquarters from November 1976 through (1986 or later). It contained the Library, a few Museum items, office space, storage, the Chapel of the Rose, and quite a bit of heraldic decoration. One rather suspects that a significant amount of material continuted to be stored at the San Pedro location.
Harbor City
The Harbor City location was the detached garage of Rodney Hartwell's home in that city from July 1974 through November 1976. Because it provided isolation from his residence, it permitted volunteers to visit and contribute to the programs of the Society.
Hermosa Beach
The Hermosa Beach location was a very crowded spare room in the Hartwell home in that city from February 1971 through January 1974. It just barely permitted of visitors, and one can imagine that storage also occupied other areas of the home.
Faysmith Avenue, Torrance
The Faysmith Avenue location was the boyhood home of our Founder, which he shared with his mother. It was also the site of a house fire that erased much of the early history of the Society. It served as headquarters from April 1959 through November 1969.
Future Facilities
It is presently expected that the Society will work toward obtaining a facility to which the public might be invited. It may be that what is found may not be completely sufficient to the needs, thus one or more storage units might continue to be required.
The following step would be to obtain a rented facility adequate to all our storage and use needs; it may be possible to jump to this condition directly.
Ultimately, it is intended that the Society will again purchase a facility. It is unlikely that we will be able to obtain one that suits all of the expectations, but it may be possible over time to modify the facility or to replace it with a purpose-built structure. One would expect this last to be in the very distant future indeed, absent some truly amazing donations.
Minimum Requirements
- Work space for two more or less permanent officers. These would not have to be enclosed offices, but that would be a bonus. A single office or small conference room would permit of private conversations.
- Work space for two volunteers, each with a computer terminal.
- A dedicated work area for printing, binding, and packaging, including storage space for supplies.
- Space to store back issues and reprints.
- Space for 26 4-drawer filing cabinets (some could probably be left in storage).
- Computer space for the firewall, servers, and battery backups (with additional backup units in each work space).
- Space for four 6-foot storage cabinets, which might be used for supplies as above.
- Room for a conference table to seat eight (or a small table and lectern facing 24 seats); this needed only occasionally, so space could be shared, probably with the Chapel of the Rose as was done in previous headquarters.
Enhanced Requirements
- Space for library stacks.
- Space for unprocessed library material.
- Space for the map cabinets.
- Space for equipment storage (spare computers & printers).
- Space for the Chapel of the Rose (this could be used for the conference table).
- Space to store such few Museum items as may be retained.
