The historic Second Ward Public Building (aka “Hathaway’s Hideaway”) has served the community since 1901. As the current owners, we take pleasure in sharing this congenial space with others and thus continuing its career as a community resource. The Building and its furnishings are irreplaceable, and therefore we count on every user to care for and preserve it. The following are common-sense rules to keep our Building safe, make its use affordable to you, and make your event enjoyable. — Hathaway’s Hideaway
- Clean-up
Please refer to the check-list for shutting down the building for specifics on clean-up. You are responsible for clean-up after your event. If we had to pay for janitorial service after every event, this would add $200 to your cost every time. By keeping the expenses low we are able make the facility affordable to many. Your guideline should be: leave the Building cleaner than it was when you arrived.
Brooms, sponge mops, pails and supplies are next to the first-floor refrigerator and in the basement. Sometimes it is sufficient wipe the tables and bar tops and sweep the floor. However, if people spill drinks or track in mud, the floor will need wet mopping. Often the floor near the refrigerator gets muddy from fallen ice cubes.
If you plan to return the next day to finish cleaning up, please arrange this with us in advance. Sometimes another user is scheduled for the next day. In any case, your clean-up must be finished by noon of the next day. If you choose to pay the additional $200 for professional clean-up, you must be arrange this with us in advance so clean-up is finished before the next event.
- Fire Safety
No smoking in the Building. When smokers step outdoors to the sidewalk, they should use the receptacle for butts before re-entry. A metal can for this purpose is located inside the main entry.
If you light candles or sterno for chafing dishes, we prefer that you use a lighter for this purpose. If for any reason you use matches, please dispose of them in the sealed coffee cans provided behind the bars. Do not throw used matches in the trash.
Do not block the stairway or the exit at the bottom of the stairway. The two, second-floor rear windows open onto the roof but should be used only in an emergency.
- Security
No use of alcohol by underage guests. No illegal drugs.
If event attendance is more than 30 people, we ask that you have someone watch the door to prevent entry by uninvited guests. Some people mistake the Building for a public place and wander in. Coats have been stolen by strangers who entered unnoticed (you can diminish this hazard by placing coats on either the second floor or on the basement rack).
Be sure to lock the doors, including the deadbolt on each door! Also lock the windows including the street level window.
- Care of facility and furnishings
NO carving of bricks, furniture, or woodwork!
Do not use tape on walls or on the pictures hanging there (the exception is blue, “painters” tape). Do not move the pictures. Add no nails or hooks to walls or woodwork.
- Ours and yours
Bring your own beverages, food, tableware, glasses, serving bowls and utensils. You are welcome to use the toilet paper, kleenex, paper towels and trash bags as needed for your event.
Please do not remove our things for any reason, even to wash them. Please tell your helpers which supplies are yours and which are off limits.
6 Shutting down the building
If you rearrange the furniture, please put it back when you are done. Do not move tables from one floor to another. If you need to stack tables, prepare in advance by bringing blankets or corrugated cardboard to protect the table-tops. These are antique tables and the carved surfaces must not be scratched.
A checklist is provided on a separate sheet. If you forget to bring it to your event, additional copies are available in the back-bar under the mirror on the ground floor. (Look in the cabinet nearest the refrigerator.) Please check off each item on the list before you depart and sign the sheet when all items have been checked. Do this right after your event.
If you return the next morning to finish clean-up, place another check beside each item. Return the sheet with the keys, or (if you are a regular user with permission to keep keys), leave the signed checklist on the bar on the ground floor. We will inspect the Building on the next day after each use.
Many items on the check-list involve conservation of energy, such as turning off lights and turning down thermostats, turning off the A/C in summer, turning off the hot water heater in the ground-floor restroom. We reserve the right to deduct $5 for each light left on, water heater left on, A/C left running and/or thermostat not turned back to normal