Kate Dahmen shows off some of the wares on offer at the Old Town Hall Exchange.
The Covid-19 pandemic closed the Old Town Hall Exchange’s doors for almost two years — but the shop is back.
“I’ve always loved this place and wanted to see if I could help reopen it,” said Lincoln resident and artist Kate Dahmen. She reached out to Stacy Osur, who manages the building for the nonprofit Lincoln Old Town Hall Corporation, and reopened the store on an intermittent basis during the holiday season.
On the main floor, visitors can browse through the pre-pandemic stock of gifts, cards, toys, baby clothing, and books as well as new penny candy — a favorite of Lincoln kids for decades. The basement is fuller than ever with antiques (“a lot of stuff came in during the pandemic,” Dahmen said). The Exchange does consignment sales, returning 70% of the proceeds to crafters and antique owners while the remainder goes to building maintenance and shop operations.
“We’ll slowly bring in new stuff as space allows,” she said. “We’d love to bring in more unique things and create wall space for original art. This is a place where you can buy something you couldn’t find on Amazon or a major store, but we’ll always have cards and penny candy no matter what.”
The hours of operations are still not set in stone since Dahmen is in the process of finding volunteers to help for two hours a week apiece, so she advised calling ahead (781-259-9876). She hopes to be open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Saturday from noon–4 p.m. when staffing allows. Anyone interested in volunteering may email her at kate.dahmen@gmail.com. “It’s a really happy place to spend time and it’s a great way to meet people,” she said.
The Old Town Hall is now in its third location. It was built in 1848 close to the current location of Bemis Hall “for all Political, Temperance, Antislavery & Peace Meetings and Lecturers for Lyceum, and Singing Schools, for Picnics, Fairs and Sabbath School celebrations and for all Literary & Scientific Lecturers,” according to the building’s website. It was moved down the hill closer to the First Parish Church in 1884 and then to its current location in 1918. At various times it housed Lincoln’s first high school and the public library. Later tenants included a general store and gas station, a law office, and a small publisher.
Coldwell Banker occupied some of the upstairs office space until leaving in October 2022. The space is being renovated for new tenants, but Osur said she didn’t know what the space will be used for and when. “The whole thing is still up in the air,” she said.