4 minute read
Arch Street Teen Center Opens its House
For three decades the Arch Street Teen Center has served the youth community by providing teens (in grades six through 12) with a safe, welcoming environment for them to connect with peers and engage in positive social interactions through its programs – all within a trusted, drug and alcohol-free space.
In fact, Arch Street stands as the longest running nonprofit, privately funded teen center in the nation.
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Before the building, located at 100 Arch Street, was transformed into a teen center in 1991, the historic three-story edifice served as a Department of Public Works warehouse.
The exposed brick and bright open-airy space has a true coffeehouse feel, a place for teens to unwind and take a breather.
The center boasts an impressive dance floor, a multi-level stage for performances, as well as a café, rendering it a turn-key venue for weekend socials, special musical events, and educational seminars.
While enduring economic downturns over the years, Arch Street has remained a Greenwich fixture and has enjoyed steady growth in attendance each year, helping teens grow into young adults, many of whom continue to frequent the center long afterwards as volunteers.
As the longest running teen center in the U.S., it is hard to imagine that its origin took so many years to come to fruition.
The impetus for its creation is attributed to the late Christopher Haebler Frantz who was a staunch supporter of the fight against drugs and alcohol, having lost two friends to drugs during high school.
It was Christopher’s fierce determination to open a local teen center in order to combat such vices and his vision to create a safe haven dedicated to the welfare of Greenwich youth.
After many years of hard work, oftentimes facing rejection, Christopher’s tenacity never waned.
Eventually, the Frantz’s formed a partnership with Judy Donahue and Suzanne Prunier, members of the Council on Youth and Drugs, as well as Ambassador Charles L. Glazer (the founding chairman of Arch Street), whose shared mission in creating a teen center “was a match made in heaven,” according to Christopher's brother, Scott Frantz.
In 1991, Arch Street opened its doors to Greenwich teens in honor of Christopher Frantz who had passed away in a tragic aviation accident five years earlier.
In the entrance, a plaque: This building is dedicated to the memory of Christopher Haebler Frantz and Ann Haebler Frantz – Both loved this town and its citizens.
“We are so fortunate to have a community that helped plan, build, and support such a successful teen center,” said Scott Frantz. He went on to explain, “The real secret to the success of the longest running teen center in the U.S. is Kyle Silver who is an outstanding leader and has made Arch Street a true success story.”
Silver has served as the executive director for Arch Street for over twenty years. His vested commitment and easy way with people of all ages has helped drive the success of the teen center.
While Silver has developed and evolved an active program roster, more often than not, Silver is on-site, getting to know the students one-byone, lending an ear.
“A critical part of my job is really being there for the kids, going that extra step to help guide them if and when a positive change is needed in their lives,” said Silver.
Aside from working with a solid executive board, over the years Silver has forged tried-and-true partnerships with local organizations and experts, aligning kids and parents with the right resources when necessary.
“Arch Street is excellent at disseminating information and getting the word out to teens of the dangers of opioid abuse through educational programs and discussions,” said Frantz.
Throughout the school year, Arch Street hosts regularly scheduled youth socials, for 6th through 12th graders. 6th graders have their own designated socials, while other grades will combine with one another, like 7th and 8th grades for example.
Local youths from both public and independent schools unite together for a fun night of socializing, games, dancing and pizza.
All socials are fully staffed with a Greenwich Emergency Medical Staff member, as well as a police officer for weekend evening events.
Over the years, Silver has attracted great musical talent to the center, such as Greenwich resident and singer, Diana Ross and the punk band Taking Back Sunday.
In 2015, Greenwich singer and songwriter Caroline Jones, who is one of the headliners at this year's Greenwich Town Party, hosted a free community concert, “Arch Street Acoustic,” which included a contest for local teens and the winners were selected to perform with Jones.
Visit archstreet.org for more information or to sign up for its email newsletter, or call (203) 629-5744.
