A date with history: Bell Mansion provides touch of elegance.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: SUDBURY

For an elegant setting for business gatherings that's both charming and historical, organizers need look no further than the Art Gallery of Sudbury.

Situated near the city's downtown core and overlooking Ramsey Lake, the gallery is located in one of Sudbury's most iconic and oldest residences: Belrock, or, as it's more commonly known to locals, the Bell Mansion.

Built in the Arts and Crafts style from local stone, the 6,000-squarefoot residence was constructed in 1907 by lumber baron William Joseph Bell and his wife, Katherine, who moved to Sudbury to make their fortune harvesting the area's dense pine forest, at a time before the region became better known for mining.

A popular site for outdoor weddings and photo shoots, Belrock has been largely overlooked for business functions, but Joelle Beaulieu, the gallery's facility coordinator and executive assistant, said she's open to ideas and welcomes new purposes for the space.

"Probably, people think it's just a nice location, and they just think weddings," Beaulieu said. "They don't realize, 'I'll just go there for a meeting.'"

Gallery 1, located on the main floor, measures 1,000 square feet and has a capacity of 75 for non-fixed spaces, or 90 people standing. A roll-down screen is available for viewing videos or presentations, and a microphone, podium and projector can be provided if needed.

Gallery 2, located on the second level, also measures 1,000 square feet and has the same capacity. Wi-Fi is available throughout the facility.

The open nature of the galleries means that a variety of setups--from a formal sit-down dinner to a casual networking soiree--can be configured to the spaces, Beaulieu said.

Also on the second level is Gallery 3, which measures 420 square feet and is ideal for smaller groups of 15 to 30 people. An adjoining studio is most often used for children's art classes in the summertime.

In the basement, caterers have access to a prep kitchen with a sink, countertops and a fridge to prepare food for serving.

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Clients can even arrange for art instruction as teambuilding or networking exercises.

"If you're a group, and say your work group wanted to do a class, we provide classes," Beaulieu said. "If you wanted to book your group to come do art while you're doing teambuilding, we can also accommodate that."

Any revenues generated from facility rentals are reinvested into arts programming and bringing new exhibits to the art gallery, a non-profit...