A landmark reborn: The restored, renovated State Theatre to debut soon
Closed since 2018, the State Theatre building has been at 687 Central Ave. since 1924. Philanthropist Kevin Chadwick says renovations are nearly complete. Photo: Bill DeYoung
From Catalyst: St. Petersburg’s newest performing arts venue will most likely debut this spring.
It’s not new, exactly. The State Theatre closed in 2018, a concert hall beset by numerous problems, including fire code violations that significantly reduced its capacity, which severely undercut management’s ability to attract big-name acts.
By then, the State had been in a state of physical (and financial) decline for decades.
Real estate broker Kevin Chadwick then paid $2.1 million for the building at 687 Central Avenue. Chadwick says renovations are just about complete, and the “new” State Theatre might be ready for a late-April opening, as a multi-purpose venue for concerts and other performance events.
Plan set to close $10 million gap in Erie Warner Theatre project
The Warner Theatre in downtown Erie. GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS
From GoErie.com: A $6 million bank loan and new donations are now in place for the project, which is slated to begin in April.
The final multimillion-dollar phase of renovations to Erie’s historic Warner Theatre is back on track, thanks to a $6 million bank loan and new donations that will help close a $10 million funding shortfall.
The Erie County Convention Center Authority, at a special meeting on Monday, signed off on borrowing the $6 million from First National Bank for the roughly $26.7 million project.
In addition, Eriez Magnetics has agreed to contribute $1 million to the Warner project, Erie billionaire Tom Hagen will contribute $1.5 million and Erie Insurance will donate $500,000, said Roger Richards, an Erie lawyer who heads the authority’s Strategic Planning Committee.
All’s well that ends well: Fox Theater gets new owner
At left Damon Rubio stands with outgoing theater owner Michael Frydrych. BY DAVID JAMES HEISS, Record Gazette
From the Record Gazette: What Damon Rubio did for the Mary Pickford Theatre in Palm Desert, will not require as much effort to enhance the services and experience of movie goers in Banning.
Granted, renovations of the Fox have already been performed — an undertaking that was a little different for Rubio’s theater in Palm Desert and for his Minaret Theater in Mammoth Lakes after he bought them.
As of last Friday, Rubio had taken over the 92 year-old historic Fox Theater entity from Michael Frydrich, who for years kept visitors’ costs low by making it a cash-only business.
Rubio says he is going to “modernize” the Fox by accepting credit cards for purchases and enabling tickets to be purchased ahead of time online, as soon as his new point of sale equipment is delivered.
Vermilion’s Harbourtown Fine Arts Center pushing for theater preservation
Harbourtown Fine Arts Center President Jim Chapple speaks while on the stage in the opera house of Vermilion’s 1883 Town Hall building. With an organizational structure in place and nonprofit tax status, Harbourtown Fine Arts Center is launching a fundraising campaign to buy the building this year.
From The Morning Journal: Local arts supporters have launched a campaign to buy Vermilion’s historic 1883 Town Hall.
The clock is ticking.
The Harbourtown Fine Arts Center is an organization dedicated to preserving the historic town hall and playhouse at 736 Main St.
This year marks the start of a capital campaign to buy the structure, which features an antique theater on the second floor.
Harbourtown Fine Arts Center has a purchase agreement to buy the building, but needs to raise $250,000 to do so by September.
Pipe organ used for silent films still plays music at Saginaw’s Temple Theatre thanks to this club
A detail of the organ console seen at The Temple Theatre on Monday, Jan. 27, 2020 in Saginaw, Mich. Riley Yuan | MLive.com
From MLive: SAGINAW, MI – With its golden finish shining spectacularly in the spotlight, a historic pipe organ at Saginaw’s Temple Theatre has been a gilded centerpiece and point of pride at the venue for nearly a century.
The Golden Voiced Barton organ has been making music for generations. And now the theater’s Organ Club is celebrating 50 years of keeping the instrument in tip-top shape while educating people about the history behind this piece of Saginaw’s theatrical past.