Blue Mountains MP Trish Doyle was among the many guests who celebrated the Lawson community hall reopening on the weekend of July 22-23.
The Mechanics Institute was originally built in 1903 by the community as they carried bricks from the first Lawson station of 1879, then called Blue Mountain, across the road to its present site.
There was live music and a history walking tour led by Kate O’Neill.
The sympathetically designed portico, by architect Simon Hearn, was rebuilt by the Roads and Maritime Service on the eastern side of the building, following the highway widening. Blue Mountains Council funded the new carpark and disability access and refurbished the rear meeting rooms, so that the building can better function to its full potential.
Friends of the hall gained a NSW Community grant and funded the installation of improved electrical circuits and a large fan in the auditorium.