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Spirit Week at Tofield School Page 9
Your LOCAL Media since 1918! Volume 106 Issue 27
www.tofieldmerc.com
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Historic Holden Paragon Theatre slated for demolition Jana Semeniuk Staff Reporter
The village of Holden’s 70-year-old historic Paragon Theatre will be scheduled for demolition due to extensive damages sustained during flooding last year. The difficult decision was made by the Beaver County council at their Feb. 21 council meeting. The Beaver County website stated an engineering firm was hired to explore repair options for the building and set the repair bill at between $800,000 and $1 million. “Council made the difficult decision to proceed with the demolition of the Paragon Theatre,” said the county’s website. “This decision was not made lightly, and Council is committed to exploring new avenues to support the arts and community groups affected by this loss.” Dave Maruszecka, President of the Beaverhill Players, said the theatre is a staple in the community and he is sad to hear about its demise. “I’m sad to see that (is) going to happen. The rest of the group obviously feel the same way,” he said. “It was one of a kind in the county, almost like a showpiece. There is no other like it around.” Maruszecka said the theatre was built in the early 50’s when it was used as a movie theatre for the village. According to online history, the building sat idle from the end of the 60s until the late 70s when the county took it over and spent a large amount of time and money to revive the facility enabling live performance shows in addition to showing movies. Shortly after, the management of the building was turned over to the Beaver Regional Arts Society. Meanwhile, the Beaverhill Players, a volunteer group dedicated to live performances, used the theatre and held their last performance in 1997 before disbanding due to dwindling volunteers. By 2010, however, members of the previous players regrouped and once again began performing at the theatre, taking over the management in 2016 and installing a new roll down big movie screen
The village of Holden's 70-year-old Paragon Theatre will be demolished due to extensive flood damage sustained last year.
and high-tech LED projector. Maruszecka, who has been with the Beaverhill Players since 2010, said the theatre has flooded previously and believes the damage sustained during last summer’s flood was too much for the building to bear. “The problem is that some of that flooded area was flooded before. It looks like it never really did dry out,” he said. “So basically, there's a bunch of rotten sub floor underneath there and that's what kind of drove this one to be more monumental than what it would have been otherwise.” Maruszecka said in the meantime, the group have been showing their movies at the Holden Hall. He said he is not sure what the future holds for the Beaverhill Players. “The Village of Holden have been very supportive of us. The whole ‘no theatre’ decision only came a short time ago and we haven’t really met to talk about what we might do going forward,” he said. Meanwhile, Beaver County Reeve Kevin Smook said he was also dismayed that they had no other options to save the aging theatre. He said the costs to demolish the
building will be approximately $300,00 - $400,000. “The loss of the 70-year-old building is deeply felt within the county, signifying not just the loss of a structure but also a hub of arts and culture for the Holden area. This decision was one of the toughest faced by Council, arrived at with heavy hearts after weighing the significant structural damage against the prohibitive costs of repair,” he said by email. Smook added that key members of the community provided input into their decision. “We recognize the impact this has on our community and are committed to finding ways to continue supporting arts and cultural activities in the area.” Smook said they do not have a timeline as to when they expect demolition to begin, nor do they have plans for the empty lot. “The next steps for proceeding with the demolition include working with the affected groups, adhering to the County's purchasing policy to select a contractor, and establishing a timeline for the demolition process,” he said. “The County is planning the next steps with the appropriate groups.”
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