SHARON Group closes deal on theater

The foundation will hold several events to fund renovations.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- The Columbia Theater now belongs to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation.
Bob Crosby, foundation president and chief executive officer, said the sale was closed and the deed and keys handed over by Columbia Theatre Inc. on Friday.
The foundation gave Columbia Theatre Inc. a cashier's check for $10,000 for the old theater June 10 after learning that group's board of directors had agreed to sell it to the foundation at that price.
The theater has been unused since its West State Street entryway was destroyed in a fire in early 1981.
Subsequent years of neglect, lack of heat and a leaky roof destroyed most of its ornate plaster interior and did other damage.
Plans for the building
Crosby and Tony Butala, founder and chairman of the foundation and a member of The Lettermen, plan to use the Columbia as a performance hall for vocal artists and Vocal Group Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and concerts.
However, they need to do some work to get the old building open for public use.
Columbia Theatre Inc. abandoned the project after putting about $1 million into the building and estimating that a full renovation would require $6 million more.
There wasn't sufficient community support to raise that kind of money nor provide operating revenues to keep it open, they said.
Crosby said the plan is to hold some benefit concerts to raise enough money to meet basic building and safety codes and open the theater's doors. Additional concerts and other events will be scheduled to finance ongoing renovations, which could take several years, he said.
The first concert, by The Lettermen, will be at 7 p.m. June 30 at Packard Music Hall in Warren. Proceeds will benefit the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the Columbia, Crosby said.
Tickets, at $25, $20 and $15, are available at Tops Markets and Subways in Warren, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon and Packard Music Hall.
Crosby said other groups have also committed to performing benefit concerts for the Columbia project.