The Wooly Event Hall

Downtown Gainesville’s retro, moody event hall.

Weddings, Holiday Parties, Corporate Events, and more.

352-278-1178

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The Wooly is a unique venue suited to host your wedding reception, holiday party, or cocktail party. We provide in-house catering and a full service bar. We are conveniently located in the heart of downtown Gainesville, just minutes away from UF.

A large, versatile space in downtown Gainesville!

The Wooly At a Glance

  • Capacity: Banquet seated 120 / Cocktail-style 350

  • Square footage: 4400sqft

  • Bar: Consumption base - full liquor, beer and wine

  • Hours: Available 8am-2am

  • Ideal for: Weddings, holiday parties, cocktail parties, reunions and more

Our History

In 1856, the land The Wooly is situated on was purchased for a downtown square for close proximity to where the courthouse once stood (the corner plot southeast from The Wooly). In 1860, the land originally held a two-story hotel built from wood called The Arlington Hotel. During that time many people traveled to Gainesville and stayed at The Arlington for health and wellness retreats with visits to the nearby springs for medicinal purposes.

The Arlington burned down in 1884, and in 1886 a general store, called Endel’s Dry Goods was built (now in brick). Other businesses were included in this building, including a dental office in 1892.

In 1907, the whole building became Gainesville National Bank.

In 1923, FW Woolworth Co. began utilizing the building and was expanded up the block to where The Top currently stands. During this time it became Woolworth’s, a five and dime, complete with a lunch counter and department store.

In 1983, Chesnut’s purchased the property and it became an office supply store.

The owners of The Top acquired the building in 2006. The Wooly opened its doors for the first time in 2013 as one of the music venues for The Fest, a yearly punk music festival.

What’s Included/Rental Info

The Wooly offers plenty of space for entertaining and includes tables, chairs, and in-house speaker system.

We offer many additional rental options to make your event planning as simple as possible, including linens, AV equipment, & colored up-lights!

Wooly FAQs

  • Based on design of your event, The Wooly will accommodate 350 for a strolling, cocktail-style reception and 120 for a buffeted dinner.

    • (15) 60” round tables

    • (8) 8’x30” rectangular tables

    • (10) 36” round tables - can be 30” high or 42” high

    • (4) 6’ serpentine tables

    • 90 Wood folding chairs

    • 120 plastic folding chairs

    • In-house speaker system for background music

  • The Wooly is available to rent until 2AM.

  • Yes! You are welcome to provide your own centerpieces and linens. (Or you can rent linens through us!) You are welcome to hang items from our rafters and ceiling as well. However, we do have a few limitations to decorations as follows:

    • No open flames.

    • The use of tape or other adhesives, nails, tacks, screws or similar articles on interior or exterior surfaces is not allowed. All decorations shall be put up without defacing the building and their installation shall be subject to prior approval and subsequent supervision.

    • Confetti, glitter and bubble machines are not permitted.

  • Yes! We have hosted several full-day wedding celebrations. The Wooly has several options to be a space all your own. Depending on your guest size, the event space can bit set up for non-traditional wedding ceremonies.

    We recommend to all of our wedding couples to hire a wedding planner or day-of coordinator. They can help with these transitions. There are lots of ways to situate your wedding in our space, and it will depend on what works best for you!

  • Outside catering is permitted, however, there is a per guest charge for use of outside catering. All food brought into the space has to be from a licensed and insured kitchen. No homemade food is permitted in the venue.

  • Liquor, wine, and canned/bottled beer must be purchased through The Wooly.

  • "Five stars is simply not enough stars for the experience that I had when I had my wedding at The Wooly. Bailey and her staff at The Wooly were there for me every step of the way."

    Blair L.

  • "We still have friends and family talk to us about how good the food was at our wedding. The Wooly staff working the night of our wedding were also top notch!"

    Brandon H.

  • " I recently rented The Wooly for my 40th high school reunion and what a huge success!! If you are looking for a unique and cozy venue, look no further...The Wooly is it!

    Melinda N.

Let’s work together!