does anyone know anything about the old theater in town. who owns it? or is it safe or useable for shows/entertainment? i have seen it for years and all i know is its for sale and has been since i moved here 5 years ago. i would like to start to bringing entertainment to town for kids and adults alike but need a place that will hold people , and is fuctional & safe ( heat , electric , rest rooms etc) any other ideas that anyone else may have (locations , event ideas, etc) would be appreciated. sorry if i mispelled , if i did it wasnt meant to offend anyone! lol
The theater is probably beyond hope for doing anything on the cheap. Lack of parking, lack of code compliance, etc. It has been vacant since I was a little kid (late 70’s).
Better options might include the fire hall, community center, the new proposed community center at the old dump, or the churches. I will warn you though - many have tried youth centers and many have failed. It sucks but it is so… they are never a profitable venture. I know - I used to manage an Under-21 night club in York in the early 90’s.
thanks for your imput alex. profit really isnt my main objective vs. just having something to for the kids to do. many bands will play for free or dj’s will come for little$ just to get their name out or to cover their costs. i dont know any local bands or djs that ever got rich doin so, as i said its more for their love of music and to get their name out. latlely i have seen the kids hanging out by the gas stations and the corner of 851 & 24. smoking cigarettes! hopefully we can find something more constructive for all of them to do. any ideas are welcome.
The club I managed was not for profit either… the goal was to break even and give the kids something to do. Problem was even charging a $5-6 cover they couldn’t do it. Now maybe in a lower rent area you could make it.
I am all for something for the kids. I see way to many of them hanging out and getting into trouble.
I know my daughter (16) says she wants to renovate that old theatre when she gets older and make a coffee house where kids can listen to their favorite local bands. So I think you are on the right track. They hang at Starbucks which occasionally has music and the Y also has some local music but my older kids don’t want to hang at the Y too much - onlywhen their friends are playing. I know the high school “bands” have a following. I think they would also like a place to entertain. However, as Alex mentions there won’t be a profit or much of one as I know kids are hard on furniture, appliances, restrooms, etc....
does anyone know anything about the old theater in town. who owns it? or is it safe or useable for shows/entertainment? i have seen it for years and all i know is its for sale and has been since i moved
The original owner was Byron McClung who passed away in ‘84.
A fellow named Neal owns the old theater. There is an apartment or two above it. That was the only part that was renovated. Bill’s brother Jimmy used to live upstairs.
The theater portion from what I understand is running wild with rodents. It would require a complete gut out job. All new wiring, plumbing and new heating system for starters. You’re talking a lot of money.
It’s had a for sale on it for a couple of decades. It was listed on the last tax delinquent list and also the water bill is in arrears. The owner from what I understand has it tied up in litigation. It comes up on the tax delinquent list every year and the taxes are always paid before it goes to sheriff’s sale.
As for theater itself, it’s
here 5 years ago. i would like to start to bringing entertainment to town for kids and adults alike but need a place that will hold people , and is fuctional & safe ( heat , electric , rest rooms etc) any other ideas that anyone else may have (locations , event ideas, etc) would be appreciated. sorry if i mispelled , if i did it wasnt meant to offend anyone! lol
The club I managed was not for profit either… the goal was to break even and give the kids something to do. Problem was even charging a $5-6 cover they couldn’t do it. Now maybe in a lower rent area you could make it.
I am all for something for the kids. I see way to many of them hanging out and getting into trouble.
I think a $5-$6 cover charge back during the days when you managed a teen club was way too high a fee for teenagers. Even today that is too high a cover charge for teenagers. I can understand $1 or $2 but $5 or $6 no wonder the place went under.
thanks for your imput alex. profit really isnt my main objective vs. just having something to for the kids to do. many bands will play for free or dj’s will come for little$ just to get their name out or to cover their costs. i dont know any local bands or djs that ever got rich doin so, as i said its more for their love of music and to get their name out. latlely i have seen the kids hanging out by the gas stations and the corner of 851 & 24. smoking cigarettes! hopefully we can find something more constructive for all of them to do. any ideas are welcome.
I’m not aware of any bands or DJ’s willing to participate for free in this type of venture. The only place I’m aware of that bands play for free is at a place in Nashville. This place is often shown on cable. A lot of record producers visit it frequently.
We were open on Friday and Saturday nights. Average Friday night crowd was 200 people. Saturday nights depended on the popularity of the band. Some nights we had 400+, others, 10. The bands were paid $1 per head. All were local.
The age range for the club was 16-21. Some were younger, some were older. Most in this age range had jobs. The kids came from all over the county, and some came from Baltimore, Lancaster and Harrisburg.
The cover charge did not seem to be a problem. The crowds never dwindled. What caused it to go under were the fees and costs of operations still exceeded the income. In order to make something like this work, you need a DJ, a “bar tender”, an entry person to collect the money, and 5-6 bouncers to make sure all stay out of trouble. You also need someone to clean the club during the week.
None of us got rich - we were basically volunteers. We made $10 per weekend. Me included. Other expenses include property taxes, concessions, upkeep, advertising, insurance and the occassional fine.
The Hopewell Area Recreation & Parks board used to have a Teen Night every Friday while school was out for summer vacation. It eventually closed due to a limited # of kids.
We later were working the Communities that Cares group and they were working with the various centers that had the SE School district in common so that no two centers were having an event on the same night..
I’m sure the Rec.Board would be interested in having a teen center/program again. The rent is typically cheap or Free depending upon the organizations profit motives and who the customers will end up being..
The Rec.Board meets the 2nd Wednesday of each month, 7:30PM at the Community Center in Stewartstown. If you would like to be on the agenda you can contact the boroughs office at 717-993-2963 and choose the extensio for the Recreation Board and leave a message.
i do know bands and a dj or two that would be willing to play for a buck or two, some even for free. the only problem i have encountered when doing a show in stewartstown was a few people that were worried that i was going to make a million dollars and not include anyone if there were a profit. the thought of money makes some peoples heads spin! some people see $ insted of the true reason for the effort. anyone , such as alex, tuely knows there is no $ to be made in such a venture. more money is made on bingo then a venture such as this. as long as the people that think your making a million dont beat the idea to the ground , it makes it a little easier to do. its alot of work and its for everone in the community. if someone puts alot of effort into such events for kids, i would hope to think the community would support it in some way. if you have someone working very hard and a few making it difficult to make it happen will only discourage the people doing the hard work. from what im hearing the theater is out! the rec. center would be perfect , but between having several people that would have to approve it ,and having to attend a meeting evrytime you do an event might make it difficult or discouraging to the organizers. the rec. board does a great job , they can make this happen if they want to.
I don’t have any ideas for you but I play in a local band and would be interested in playing at anything you put together. Our band is made of local high school seniors and we play classic rock and alternative rock. Let me know what comes up. Thanks. One more thing...We will play for free (we are a good band, but we just want to play to play...not for the $$$)
My son plays occasionally with few local kids, one of whom I believe is a Barton son. The kids have all been talking about what a great concert location the now empty Barton’s store would make...not sure if it has ever been officially brought up to Mr. Barton or not.
anyone have any other places or ideas? with the community center i think there may be to many politics involved for a simply venture. any ideas are welcome. thanks
