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Annual Report

Three circles showing LLA missions: history, community, and discussion

2023-2024 Annual Report

View and download the FY 2023-2024 Annual Report PDF

Lexington Lyceum Advocates is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization 

Our mission is to prepare for a modern lyceum, history interpretation center, and community gathering space at the renovated Ellen Stone Building. We envision the Stone Building as a venue to learn from the past and shape the future. 


In its inaugural year, the LLA built a strong foundation of funds, supporters, and programs designed to revitalize a restored Ellen Stone Building.

  • Supporters • 404 • 101 Facebook followers & 238 Instagram followers • 2 grants: Massachusetts Cultural Council & Community Endowment of Lexington 
  • Donors – 166
  • Community program participants – 729
  • Community programs – 17 Outreach – staffed tables at 3 community events 

The LLA began the fiscal year with $902 in the bank and ended with $16,693, bringing in revenue from the sources below.
Revenue went back into LLA programming and operational support.

  • Grants – $11k
  • Donations – $17k
  • Ticket sales – $4k

LLA Display Table at East Village Fair 2023
International Fun Fest at Stone Building 2023

In keeping with the programming of the original lyceum to educate and entertain, the LLA set up a variety of related events, including:

  • Community Conversations – 4 • Why Can’t We Talk to Each Other? • Hard Conversations Workshop • How Much Affordable Housing Do We Need? • Growing Up in a Climate Crisis
  • Public Events – 7 • Lemonade Socials & Open Houses • International Fun Fest • Frederick Douglass Transcription Day • League of Women Voters First Friday Presentation
  • Historical Tours – 4• Women Abolitionists • Robbins Cemetery • East Lexington • Minuteman Bikeway’s Railway
  • History Lectures – 2 • Frederick Douglass & The Reimagination of American Democracy (Pulitzer Prize-winning author, David Blight) • Female Abolitionists & Christmas (Ken Turino) 

The LLA has been very fortunate to count the following organizations as partners this year in its programming and mission:

ABCL• CAAL• First Parish Climate Action Team• IAL• JPLex• LexCAN• LexFarm• Lexington Historical Society Lexington Human Rights Committee Lexington Observer• Lexington Youth STEAM team• LexSeeHer• LHS History Dept.• LPS Green Teams• Mass Audubon• Munroe Center for the Arts• Sustainable Lexington


  • 1833: Eli Robbins builds a Lyceum Hall in East Lexington for his workers and neighbors.
  • 1830s-1860s: Building hosts notable presentations and debates — including lectures by Transcendentalist leader Ralph Waldo Emerson — on wide-ranging topics and gives Abolitionist societies a place to meet and speak freely.
  • 1892: Ellen Stone, Eli’s granddaughter, deeds the building to the Town of Lexington.
  • 1895-2007: Stone Building is used as East Lexington Branch Library until a flood from a burst pipe.
  • 2022: Town committee recommends returning building to its former use as a Lyceum and intercultural community gathering space after 15 years of dormancy.
  • 2022: A group of local citizens forms the Lexington Lyceum Advocates to promote the ideals for how the Ellen Stone Building might be used once renovated.
  • 2023: Town Meeting approves $400,000 to prepare designs and cost estimates for building reuse.