Photo by Lucie Monk Carter
Artist Kim Zabbia, who will serve as the nonprofit’s chair of the board of directors, is pictured in Gallery 1901.
Harry Gabriel lived large. He was a world traveler, skier, scuba diver, missionary, marathon runner, artist, craftsman, landscaper, businessman, developer, and, ultimately, a philanthropist.
On March 18, 2021, Gabriel died at sixty-two, just two months after learning the acute leukemia from which he had been in remission for ten years had returned with ferocity. But he did so with the knowledge that a beloved vision of his would finally be brought to life, unifying and growing his life-long Ponchatoula community through preservation, employment, beauty, and enrichment.
That story begins in early 2019, when Gabriel bought a circa-1901 deconsecrated Lutheran church just blocks from where he grew up. After the Lutherans decamped for the nearby, larger city of Hammond in 1964, the building became an occasional temporary home for denominations building their churches elsewhere, a photography studio, and eventually a private residence with a kitchen installed where the altar had once been.
Gabriel imagined a new life for the historied building: a community arts center that would celebrate all disciplines. He was inspired by a long-held idea of his brother John’s. The Houston-based architect’s forty-five-year-old thesis from Louisiana State University was centered on the very church Gabriel had purchased, as well as the circa-1879 Presbyterian Church on the same block, which faced a different direction from the Lutheran Church. Though the Lutheran church is larger and embellished more lavishly, with an abundance of stained glass, the two wooden churches bear very similar designs, most notably soaring peaked steeples situated near their entrances. In his thesis, John laid out a vision for the two churches to be moved and turned face-to-face, with a courtyard between them.
Photo by Lucie Monk Carter
Gabriel’s vision for the Twin Steeples Creative Arts Center had Ponchatoula’s circa-1901 Lutheran (pictured) Church and its circa-1879 Presbyterian Church turned to face each other, forming a doubly sacred complex fostering the visual and performing arts.
With John’s support, Gabriel seized upon his brother’s vision for the “twin steeples” and co-opted it for his arts center. His challenge would be convincing the Presbyterians. Though empty of its congregation—which had moved to more contemporary digs next door—the humble structure is beloved. Among its gifts are remarkable acoustics. Musician Aaron Gordon, the church’s new minister, had been frequently gathering with other musicians to play their instruments in the old church, and they were developing a bit of a following up until COVID-19, when the events had to come to a sudden halt. Then along came Gabriel.
The minister listened as Gabriel shared the idea to hydraulically lift and turn both churches to face each other. In doing so, the Presbyterian church would be pivoting away from its congregation in the newer building and would face, instead, the Lutheran structure that had metaphorically shunned it for 120 years. Together, the two churches would form a secular arts center that would welcome anyone and be built upon a foundation of ultimate expressive freedom. Gabriel was adamant that musicians would play whatever they wanted to play, and artists would create and show their original works without suppression.
Having worked as a general contractor before becoming a minister, Gordon was able to grasp the concept. The notion of unity between denominations appealed to him, but he doubted it would fly with the sixty-member congregation.
“Congregations are notorious for holding on to things, especially property,” Gordon said, “for power, for sentimental reasons, whatever. But they shocked me. Everyone, even the Old Guard members in the congregation, wanted to build unity and create something for the entire community. I see this as an act of God, a miracle.”
On July 26, 2020, the old Presbyterian church and some adjacent land were sold to Gabriel for $1.
Photo by Lucie Monk Carter
With the property secured, Gabriel spent the remainder of his 2020 lockdown bringing Twin Steeples Creative Arts Center, a 501(c)(3), to life. Well-connected, he tapped the equally well-connected Kim Zabbia, a prominent artist, beloved teacher, owner of The Art Station, and wife of Robert Zabbia, mayor of Ponchatoula, to serve under him as Vice President on the non-profit’s Board of Directors. A diverse collective of additional board members was identified, and their roles defined.
The citizens of Ponchatoula embraced Gabriel’s idea and monetary donations flowed in. Gabriel committed to matching every dollar in perpetuity throughout his lifetime and, later, through his estate. He set January 21, 2021, as the day the churches would move, and he started planning for what was certain to be a euphoric day.
In early January, though, Gabriel visited MD Anderson for a routine checkup, and discovered that the leukemia had returned. From his hospital bed in Houston, he watched via Facebook Live over Zabbia’s mobile phone as the churches were moved. The smaller Presbyterian church required a trailer. The larger Lutheran church required four hydraulic dollies and was rotated incrementally. At the end of the day, they faced each other at last, their twin steeples soaring overhead in unison.
Gabriel took his last breath less than two months later. In his obituary his family referred to Twin Steeples Creative Arts Center as “his baby.” A year since his passing, his legacy is surging forward.
With the former churches meticulously restored by Professional Construction and Restoration, the arts center opened to the public on December 30, 2021, with a force of Louisiana artists—Robby Klein, an internationally celebrated entertainment photographer; photo-realist painter Matthew Moore; dancers Cassidy Fulmer and Mercedes Mize, singer Avery Meyers, musician T.J. Barends, and rhythm group Innovative Soul.
Photo by Lucie Monk Carter
Gallery 1893 is intimate. Gallery 1901 is majestic. The two are linked by a covered outdoor pavilion surrounded by graceful trees and landscaping. The new creative arts center has already hosted musicians and artists for shows and performances through 2021 and has big plans for the new year. New exhibits will go up each month and artists can sell their works directly to consumers.
“We are not asking artists, visual or performing, to do anything for free,” Zabbia, who now serves as the nonprofit’s President, said. “We are asking the public to come for free.”
With the exceptions of fundraisers and classes, admission to Twin Steeples is free and open to the public.
While the primary focus at the arts center is the promotion of the arts in Louisiana, the center is also be available for neutral public gatherings and civic use, as well as for rent for private events on a very limited basis. “Just enough to pay the bills,” Kim said. “Gabriel was adamant that this would be for the community.”
Twin Steeples
Creative Arts Center
220 East Oak Street
Ponchatoula, Louisiana
