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Granada Theater will be razed soon
posted by
CSWalczak
on
December 24, 2009 at 7:53 am
BEAVER FALLS, PA — The last classic movie house in Beaver County, the Granada, is being demolished. Opened in 1911 as the Colonial, the theater had deteriorated beyond the point of reuse or renovation according to city spokesmen.
“We’ve had people say, ‘Oh my goodness I hate to see it go,’ but it is in such bad shape on the inside you could never really remodel it,” Beaver Falls City Administrator Steve Johnson said Thursday. “It would be cheaper to build a new building.”
Unis Demolition of Aliquippa this week erected a temporary barricade around the theater and restaurant, 1121-1125 Seventh Ave. A Castlebrook representative said demolition should start on Dec. 30.
More information here in the Times Online.
Comments (14)
Let me be the first to say I don’t like the idea of this theatre being demolished as it is “the last classic movie house in Beaver County”. That should count for something and make everyone involved…rethink this demolition!
Here’s a related article that recalls memories of the theater and some other details: View link
“Beaver Falls Mayor Karl Boak lamented the passing of the city landmark.” That’s nice to know, but it won’t save it come December 30th! My wish for the new year would be for someone to prove this community wrong and restore the Granada! Nothing is impossible!
If anyone is interested in contacting the Beaver Falls Mayor’s office in regards to the Granada, here is the address/number though time is running out for the Granada. A call would get to him much sooner!
Beaver Falls Mayor’s Office (Mr. Karl Boak)
715 15th Street, Beaver Falls, PA
(724) 847-2808
I do hope many take the time to call Mayor Boak and tell him how upset we are about the pending demise of the once grand Granada Theatre.
A Castlebrook representative said demolition SHOULD start on Dec. 30. Maybe this doesn’t mean December 30th afterall.
I just called and left a voice mail for Mayor Boak so will see if I hear back from the good Mayor in Beaver Falls PA either by phone or by email.
The zip code for the above Mayor’s office address is 15010-4124. I have also composed my letter to Mayor Karl Boak. Though it will probably be too late to save the Granada I wanted him to know about Cinema Treasures and that the CT membership is not happy about this end of the year theatre news! I hope that many of you decide to write him a letter of regret, too.
I don’t plan to write Mayor Boak a letter. I don’t live in Beaver Falls, PA, and never have, so it’s none of my business. If I was Mayor Boak I wouldn’t be overly concerned with the opinions of the CT membership. It would be nice if the theatre had been restored, but that concerns the citizenry of Beaver Falls, and they apparently didn’t feel compelled to a sufficient extent to get it done. The theatre closed in 1960, so they had plenty of time.
It seems like there’s a lot still intact that would be of interest to an architectural salvage company. Wish they’d strip it before they knock it down (though it doesn’t seem likely).
I personally Know this bldg.We had Krooners Lounge there for 23 yrs.We got bent over and screwed by The City of BeaverFalls,B.I.G.(that promised us this bldg.)And,Castlebrook!We had plans of doing a wedding hall in the auditorium section.All the bldg. needed was a new roof to keep the elements out.True.Alot of work was needed.A rubberroof would have sufficed.But,we would have loved to do some restoration of the place.But we are out! We have a bldg.2 doors down.And Its sad to see this Bullshit for our old girl.
Mayor Boak and his cronies in the city could care less about this historic treasure!I personally talked to him this morning behind the Granada as Unis was tearing the adjoining bldgs.down.We got in to a bit of a shouting match. and,I called him on all of the atrocities that the city and his friends pulled on us.All he could say was you don’t know nothing! I know it all! Castlebrook,B.I.G.Etal.This city sucks because of you Boak etal!
Has demolition commenced?
Youd think whatever developers City Hall seems to be supporting would like the idea of the Granada as a centerpiece for whatever is being planned for teh neighborhood. The Google street pics are probably a couple years old but from them clearly the neighborhood is on teh decline and in need of the unique boost a living breathing theater can bring.
I’ve fond memories of attending movies in “palaces” of various sizes and styles throughout the late 1930s and thereafter. But I have to recognize that the these institutions have a pretty good excuse for failing — it is that we all found TV, video tapes, and multiplex cinemas more seductive. And ongoing developments in home-viewing don’t offer much hope of our being rooted out of our living rooms any time soon. So today, it’s hardly likely that a traditional single-screen movie palace can pull in large enough audiences who will pay the ticket prices needed to keep it going. Some have managed to retain their facades and keep operating by cramming extra screens and other amenities inside, but it ain’t the same experience we had as kids. In Dallas, we have one old movie palace downtown that survives by hosting stage shows only and a neighborhood house that has a second screen in the balcony and a bar in the lobby.