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Old Jewel Shines Again in St. Albans, West Virginia
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| Photo courtesy of Robert Saunders |
What started out as a vision just a couple of years ago became reality recently when the St. Albans Partnership and the residents of St. Albans and the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia celebrated the two-day grand opening of The Alban, once St. Albans’ only movie theater.
The community of St. Albans, located 20 minutes from Charleston, was selected in 2007 as one of ten West Virginia Blueprint Communities (BC), an initiative of FHLBank Pittsburgh that provides revitalization training and support to community leaders in an effort to create sustainable community growth.
Proving what can be accomplished with the help and determination of several community partnerships, The Alban has now been refurbished into a conference center, concert hall, theatre and a showcase for community events. More than 500 people attended a weekend celebration in mid-August featuring facility tours, children’s entertainment, live music, a performance of “Seussical” and an opportunity for attendees to register for upcoming acting and musical theatre classes at the reopened facility.
Built in 1938, The Alban remained in operation until the early 1980s when it closed and, after sitting empty a few years, eventually became the home of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The building came up for sale in 2007 when the congregation decided to consolidate with another Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation nearby.
Mayor Dick Callaway, a member of the St. Albans BC Team, decided it was time to purchase the facility and return the building to the community. A few months later, the $180,000 purchase price was reached with a generous loan of $175,000 from a former resident and an additional $5,000 from the St. Albans Area Regional Development Authority.
According to Adam Bryan, director of The Alban, “The building’s interior was painted and lighting fixtures were updated, audio-visual equipment was purchased for the conference rooms, neon lights were replaced in the original marquee, but the major work was the addition of the stage to make it into a true performance facility.” For a nominal rental fee, the center is available to individuals or organizations and currently has events scheduled through June 2010.
“The Alban is back and has become a center of activities for theatre classes, conferences, free movie nights, concerts, receptions and other cultural events,” said Mike Reed, another member of the St. Albans BC Team and a member of the St. Albans Partnership. “The center is host to the monthly Colesmouth Series, featuring West Virginia musicians and songwriters. On free movie nights, we averaged over 220 in attendance the last five weeks…It has been a great social time for people, and we have people come from the entire Kanawha Valley.”
The St. Albans Partnership is comprised of the St. Albans Chamber of Commerce, St. Albans Economic Development Authority and the St. Albans BC Team, in conjunction with the St. Albans Convention and Visitors Bureau and The Friends of The Alban. The Partnership’s goal is to develop and promote arts and culture in the St. Albans community, and to continue to provide effective communication among its citizens and businesses. With the renovation of The Alban, the Partnership has clearly shown what can be done.
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