Foundry Hall is packing up and moving from our Warren Center location. We have been working to grow and build an education and community music program from this location for 18 months and struggling to find the partnerships and financial means to do it. The Foundry Hall Board of Directors has decided that we are not able to continue maintaining this effort.
So, we are packing up, parting with some of our instruments, equipment and unnecessary pieces and moving to a more virtual existence for a while.
We have many partnerships with local non-profits that we can rely on for presenting our performances as well as our community programs so they will continue! We will still offer lessons for piano, guitar and ukulele and will still do our best to connect people with teachers for other instruments as well. We just won’t have the location to host regular lessons anymore.
Thank you to all who donated toward our efforts at the Warren Center! Many great things happened in the 18 months that we were there and we are happy that we had the opportunity to provide so many musical experiences for people.
Please feel free to contact us via email at foundryhall@gmail.com if you have any comments or questions.
**Update! Foundry Hall is no longer renting the office space at the Warren Center offices.
You will be able to find us most reliably online and contact us via email at foundryhall@gmail.com or leave us a message on our google voice phone 269-220-0444.
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Foundry Hall’s Song Swap and Hymn Sing programs take place at the Robert Warren Center, on the first floor of the River Terrace apartment building. Foundry Hall offers occassional performances in the Warren Center community room as well as on the sunny patio overlooking the Black River. The Warren Center is near the intersection of Williams Street and Dyckman Avenue, by the drawbridge. Park and enter from Williams Street.
Performances at the Warren Center
Warren Family Trio Jan 2015
Blue Water Ramblers Feb2015
Bill Staines March2015
Kids Cabaret March2015
Brandy Zdan April2015
Hiroya Tsukamoto June2015
Michael Holt April2015
SH Mens Chorus April2015
Mark Dvorak May2015
Kids Cabaret April2015
Corn Potato String Band March 2015
About Robert Warren
Robert Warren
Robert “Bob” Warren was the fourth of five children, born on 8 February 1931 in Battle Creek, Michigan. Graduating from Battle Creek High School in 1949, Robert served in the United States Air Force during the Korean Conflict from 1950 to 1953. After being honorably discharged from the Air Force, Robert attended Western Michigan University and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music in 1958. In 1959, he married Esther M. Lamb, a native of South Haven.
Mr. Warren’s teaching career began in Marcellus, Michigan, as history teacher and band director. He went on to be orchestra director and string instrument instructor at Port Clinton, Ohio for the next five years.
Robert Warren w/ Port Clinton Suzuki Class
Robert Warren w/ Dr. and Mrs. Suzuki, and Esther Ford
Robert Warren w/ young Suzuki student
Robert Warren with Put-in-Bay students, Justine Bianci, and Dr. John Kendall
Robert Warren w/ South Haven Suzuki students
Robert Warren w/ young Suzuki student
Robert Warren and Dr. John Kendall at Oberlin, OH workshop
During this period, Robert became one of the first in the United States to incorporate the Suzuki Method in teaching young people how to play string instruments. The Suzuki Method, named after its developer Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, enabled very young musicians to play string instruments before learning to read music. The Warren family hosted Dr. Suzuki and his wife in their Port Clinton home in 1965. The Suzuki Method is widely used in the United States today.
Robert Warren w/ dance bandRobert Warren in Kalamazoo Symphony
Robert moved his family to South Haven, Michigan in 1966 in order to take a position as orchestra director and string instructor in the South Haven Public Schools. During his teaching and musical career, Mr. Warren also taught courses at the Lake Michigan Community College in Berrien County and at Nazareth College in Kalamazoo. He played string bass in the Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, and Jackson Symphonies. In addition, he played bass in a number of dance bands in Michigan and Ohio.
Robert Warren – South Haven city councilman
In 1971, Robert Warren successfully ran as a candidate for the Third Ward City Council seat. Robert was later re-elected and continued to serve the community until his death. During his time in office, Robert served on the Parks and Recreation Committee, the Bicentennial Committee, the Planning Commission, the Community Development Committee, and the Housing Commission. Mr. Warren was instrumental in the creation of a joint recreation program sponsored by the city and the public school system.
Of great concern to Robert Warren were the needs of senior citizens. His desire to see more housing and facilities for seniors was well known to family, friends, and colleagues. As city councilman, he led a drive in the community to acquire more housing for seniors in the South Haven area. These, efforts, however, were cut short by a fatal auto accident on 10 June 1978.
About the Robert Warren Center
Some time after Robert Warren’s death, the City of South Haven proposed the construction of a 49-unit elderly housing project that is now known as River Terrace Apartments. A community senior center was included — in response to a growing need for a facility to serve all of the seniors in the community. On 25 February 1980, the South Haven Housing Commission voted in favor of naming the planned community senior center in honor of Robert Warren for his hard work and dedication in furthering the well being of the senior citizens of this community.
During the early 1990’s, the South Haven Housing Commission started the South Haven Area senior Services (SHASS) organization. SHASS was an independent, 501(c)3 tax-exempt entity, created to serve an increasing number of seniors in the South Haven area. In the ensuing years, SHASS experienced tremendous growth, and now serves all Van Buren County as Van Buren County Senior Services. As a result, Senior Services outgrew their home at the Robert Warren Center, and elected to move to a new location on 76th Street, beginning on 1 March 2014.
From its original construction, through today and for many years into the future, the Robert N. Warren Senior Community Center is dedicated to promote an environment of humor, warmth, understanding, and patience for all seniors, their families, and friends.
For more information about the Robert Warren Senior Community Center, please contact the South Haven Housing Commission office at 220 Broadway, South Haven, MI 49090, or phone (269) 637-5755.
