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driveindaughter
driveindaughter commented about Community Theatre on Dec 14, 2005 at 8:18 am

The Community theater was bult in 1920 after a fundraising campaign as the theater down the street burned in a fire. It was run as a Fabian theater until 1960 when the Maselli family bought it. in the early ‘60s it was again sold to George Thornton the father of the present owner Thomas Thornton. This theater used to have a fly screen as it was also used for vaudville. The dressing rooms in the back are used for storage. In 1968 there was a fire which resulted in a huge amount of smoke damage which is why a lot of the decorative work was covered. Gangster Legs Diamond had a favorite seat in the balcony. Franklin Rooservelt then Governor of NY State once spoke there. My father Dominic J. Cornelius began his employ there in 1935 and became manager when he returned from WWII he continued to work ther until 1960 when he went with Klein Theaters. I know quite a bit if you have any questions let me know