Strand Theatre fundraising on home stretch

Local News

Related Photos

Leigh Mundy, board president of North Country Cultural Center of the Arts. talks about the recent updates to The Strand theatre Wednesday in Plattsburgh. The project is moving forward and their goal is getting close. P-R Photo / Rob Fountain
Some of the detail that has been replacement as part of the restoration project to the Strand Theatre in Plattsburgh. P-R Photo / Rob Fountain
Box seating will be put into the alcove areas near the stage when the theatre is finished. P-R Photo / Rob Fountain
Some of the detail that is being restored as part of the restoration of the Strand Theatre. P-R Photo / Rob Fountain
Period handles are on the doors in the entrance to the theatre. P-R Photo / Rob Fountain

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

February 2, 2012

DAN HEATH Press-Republican The Press Republican Thu Feb 02, 2012, 10:40 AM EST

PLATTSBURGH — Progress continues on work to convert the former Strand Theatre into The Strand Performing Arts Center.

Leigh Mundy, president of the North Country Cultural Center for the Arts Board of Directors, said it is an approximately $4 million project. That includes $3.5 million in funding and $500,000 in in-kind services.

"I feel we are about $800,000 from our goal," she said.

As of December, the project had received $1.36 million. That includes $568,000 from community members; $201,000 from the business community; $435,000 from state grants; $119,000 from federal grants; and $36,500 from foundations.

Another $463,235 in grant funds will be reimbursed once work is complete.

The Strand Restoration Project applied for a grant from the Charles R. Wood Foundation in September and received word in January that it would receive a grant of $150,000. A foundation request to have the orchestra pit named for Charles R. Wood will be honored, Mundy said.

The Strand was named a priority project in the North Country Regional Economic Development Council's 5-Year Strategic Plan. It was awarded $397,000 from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation when the funding announcements were made in December.

Mundy said a group of local business leaders formed a capital campaign committee to raise the final funds to complete the restoration and received $300,000 in pledges from local businesses. The capital campaign will soon shift its sights to the general public.

She said she wants to make it clear that all money donated for the restoration project has been or will be spent on the project. None of the money has been or will be used for administration costs of the Cultural Center for the Arts, she said.

A Save America's Treasures grant allowed installation of a new membrane roof with five roof hatches for improved access during the summer. It was also used for a new stage floor and stairway to the basement.

A 1,600-amp electric service has been installed on the exterior of the building, with interior work on that under way. Donations from local companies will allow new fire escapes and attic insulation to be installed this winter.

Bid requests for a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, auditorium ceiling plaster repair work and painting should go out in the near future.

The latter two are dependent on approval from the State Office of Historic Preservation, because the theater is a National Historic Preservation site.

"The detail in the auditorium is what makes it historically significant," Mundy said.

Already completed work includes removal of the old seats (which were not original) and asbestos abatement. Crews have renovated, replicated or rebuilt the ticket booth, downstairs bathrooms, the Corinthian columns, capitals and molding in the lobby, vestibule and mezzanine, and installed a new marquee and facade.

The work in those areas included new wiring, heat and fire-alarm systems. Crews have also installed two new upstairs bathrooms, additional windows and a security system.

Mundy said some of the work was done even when money wasn't available through thousands of hours of volunteer labor and donations of materials.

A lift from the lobby to the mezzanine is in place, while a second from the basement to the stage level has yet to be installed. Schonbek plans to create chandelier-style lighting for the theater at cost.

The Cultural Center for the Arts has even been able to secure a pipe organ to use in the theater. Leonard and Louis Johnson of Hingham, Mass., donated a 1924 Wurlitzer pipe organ in 2005, after which it was restored by Jonathan Ortloff and a number of volunteers.

An original piece of the theater was recently destroyed by a vandal. Mundy said someone smashed an etched-glass window on the original front door in passing at about 3:24 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21.

Security cameras captured the perpetrator and City Police arrested the person Sunday.

"The glass they broke is the original 1924 etched glass and it is not replaceable," she said by email. "(It's) sad that we are working so hard to recreate the historical significance of the building and one of the few original pieces was smashed for no reason but anger or meaness."

Mundy said several people are working to provide estimates on replacing the glass, but the original is gone.

The Cultural Center for the Arts plans to form a committee to search for an executive director to handle day-to-day operations of the performing-arts center.

"Once we are sure the funding is in place, we will start the search for an executive director," Mundy said.

Quotes from several local government and economic-development leaders are featured in the brochure that will be part of the upcoming capital campaign.

Former Development Corp. President Adoré Flynn Kurtz said the revitalization of downtown Plattsburgh is critical in retaining and attracting business to the region.

"All communities need a focal point and the Strand will be just that for Plattsburgh," she said. "The restoration of the Strand Theatre represents the resolve we have as a community to protect our community's legacy and once complete will be our cultural 'Center Stage' for generations to come."

North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas said, "It will create a vibrant centerpiece for downtown revitalization in the City of Plattsburgh, anchoring a broader Arts District, which will support the development of both small business and tourism, and our economic development aspirations, including aerospace."

Plattsburgh Mayor Donald Kasprzak said it's nice to see a once important part of the city return to prominence.

"With the renewal of this historic gem, the future looks bright for not only the Strand Theatre but also for our downtown district as well," he said. "The reopening of the Strand Theatre will signal a new era of culture for Plattsburgh. The community is looking forward to it."

Email Dan Heath at:

dheath@pressrepublican.com