EPSILON SPIRES

Epsilon Spires is a nonprofit arts center housed in a restored 1868 High Victorian Gothic church in downtown Brattleboro. The main sanctuary has a seating capacity of 425 with ornately carved antique pews on 3 levels. The space was built in a fashion similar to a European opera house, providing distinctive acoustics and visceral sonic resonance.

Programming combines film screenings, live music, multimedia performances, and art installations that explore the intersection of creative arts and natural sciences. The venue features a 1906 Estey pipe organ — one of two of its kind in the world still in continuous operation — with a retractable cinema screen and projection capability. The Estey organ is regularly used for performances ranging from classical to avant-garde, including live scores for silent film screenings.

Physicist Robert Johnson, founder of Omega Optical, purchased the former First Baptist Church building in December 2016. A group of artists and scientists transformed the space, and Epsilon Spires launched in 2020 just before the pandemic. The Estey organ was built by the Estey Organ Company, which was founded by Jacob Estey in Brattleboro, and given to the church in 1906. Epsilon Spires signed a 10-year lease on the historic building.