THE PRESS ROOM
PUBLIC RECORD
Coverage, interviews, field reports, and public record from Erie Labor Temple.
Erie Labor Temple is being built in public. This page collects press coverage, interviews, official announcements, and public-facing documentation related to ELT’s work as a cultural center, creative workplace, gallery platform, classroom, studio building, and civic gathering space in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania.
Public record. Cultural signal. Work under voltage.
Featured Coverage
OFFICIAL NOTICE
THE GROUND FLOOR IS OPEN
Erie Labor Temple opens its ground-floor doors to the public beginning Saturday, August 1, 2026.
This is not a grand-opening spectacle. It is something more useful: the building returning to public work.
Beginning August 1, visitors will be able to enter the Commonwealth Reading Room, attend ELT’s standing soft-social gatherings, see BOOKFORGE, Sharon Smith Metal Arts, and Art Hoard at work, and inquire about three studio spaces ready to rent immediately.
ELT is still being repaired, organized, built out, and brought fully online. Some rooms and floors will remain closed except for scheduled programs, tours, or special events. For current public hours, entry information, and access details, please consult the Visit page before coming to the building.
SEPTEMBER 18 // GALLERY NIGHT
Erie Labor Temple will be open for the September Gallery Night, with a preview presentation by UNION Fine Art Gallery featuring coffee works by Edward Patrick Kranz / Ezju.
September 18 is not ELT’s Grand Opening and not UNION’s Grand Opening. It is a first look: one exhibition, one night, and another part of the building coming under power.
DECEMBER 11 // UNION GRAND OPENING
UNION Fine Art Gallery will hold its formal Grand Opening on the December Gallery Night with WORK UNDER VOLTAGE, an exhibition built around material, pressure, tools, current, and the dignity of visible work.
The doors open in stages because the work is real.
August 1: the ground floor returns to public use.
September 18: UNION offers a first look.
December 11: UNION opens at full voltage.
If you want to help prepare rooms, welcome visitors, support programs, or keep the building moving, consider volunteering with Erie Labor Temple.
ART WORKS HERE.