Washington Ave in the Springtime…
I suspect that I will be among many friends tomorrow who will be experiencing Spring Fever at it’s most feverish. That’s if the weather forecast (50’s and sunny) isn’t but a cruel joke.
My thought is this: if every business on Washington Ave. would invest a teeny amount of money in getting a couple of 1/2 whiskey barrels ($9.99 each at Big Lots I believe) and a couple of plants for each of them, how much would that improve the appearance of The Avenue?
Many years ago, I visited Quebec, Canada, and was told that government gave some sort of incentive to people to plant window boxes. What a great idea! At any rate, that is one of the reasons we are looking for someone with a green thumb to volunteer with the theatre. One of their duties would be to maintain the flowers boxes we intend to put out in front of the theater this spring. Enjoy the show!
April 1, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Ten Years Ago Today
On a chilly April 1st, 1998, a group of community minded people with a passion for theater turned the key, opened the doors and entered the abandoned “Towne” movie theater.
Originally named the Lyric Theater, the building was built as a vaudeville theater in 1916 by Benjamin Dittrich with assistance from George F. Johnson. Over the years it served as a vaudeville theater, silent movie theater, and finally a “talkie” movie theater. Eventually, the Dittrich family sold the building to the Carroll’s Corporation who changed the name to the “Towne” theater and operated it as a movie theater until they closed the doors and walked away in 1993.
Bob Corwin, Pat and Steve Daglio, Sue Dunlap, Pat Foti and Lou Ligouri entered the abandoned movie theater hoping for the best, but seeing the worst. The theater which had been abandoned for the previous 5 years had fallen in horrible disrepair.
They made their way through broken plaster, falling ceilings, empty, mildewed, and rusted theater chairs, tattered, stained, and rotted curtains, ripped and deteriorated orange and brown wall coverings. There were extra theater chairs piled and stacked as far as the eye could see. Broken concession equipment filled the hallways and lobby. The heating system had long since frozen and quit. The electrical system defied logic. It was obvious that the theater flooded when it rained and water leaked through large holes in the roof and the theater’s rusted pressed tin ceiling. It was quite a sight.
When Bob, Pat & Steve asked Pat and Lou if they might be interested in spearheading the theater renovation project, they jumped at the opportunity. Bob Corwin wrote a check for the deposit on the purchase of the theater and the Endicott Performing Arts Center was born.
10 years later, the Endicott Performing Arts Center is proud of what it has accomplished through the efforts of so many volunteers over the years.
We have rescued an historic landmark and renovated it to its original purpose… a fully functional and beautiful performing arts facility that any community would be proud of.
We established the EPAC Repertory Company which presents high quality and affordable performing arts events to the community.
The EPAC Lyric Performers offer the opportunity for all people, regardless of experience to get involved in and enjoy the many benefits of theater,
The EPAC School for the Performing Arts offers private and group lessons in acting, voice, drums, guitar, piano, and dance.
The EPAC Kids Theater Workshops provides opporutnities for the young people of our community to learn and experience the many wonders and benefits of live theater. Many of our Kids theater alumni’s have gone on to pursue careers in the performing arts.
The EPAC Concert Series showcases regional and touring performing artists to our community.
Last year alone, we brought over 20,000 people down to the Washington Avenue Business District for well over 200 performances, rehearsals, classses and events.
What has been accomplished here on Washington Avenue is nothing short of a “miracle”. It is a tribute and testament to the core group volunteers who gave their time, sweat, and blood to help make our community a better place to live.
This original group of volunteers grew to call themselves the “dirty dozen” with deserved pride. They gave up vacations, weekends, evenings to watch a dream become a reality. It is proof that a community can be changed for the better by individuals with a common cause and passion.
This email is a very sincere and heartfelt thank you to the original “dirty dozen” and the many dozens who have followed over the past 10 years to help EPAC accomplish its mission of helping to make our community a better place to live. It’s a thank you to each member of our community for their support in so many ways. It’s a thank you to the many performing artists and arts organizations who have joined with us in spreading the word about the arts and the wonderful effects that they have on our lives and our economies. Spread the word… miracles can happen…
From Lou Ligouri, Pat Foti, and the Board of the Endicott Performing Arts Center…
God bless you all…. here’s to the winners… and the miracle on Washington Ave.