New Study on Westmont Theatre is now available

“A new study of the Westmont Theater estimates over $3.1 million would be the minimum to restore the 85-year-old entertainment venue to an operable state.” Read the full story at The Retrospect.

“Mayor Randy Teague said he and  Commissioners Paul Dougherty and John Foley have reviewed the Gibson study and plan to begin discussions of the theatre’s future at Tuesday’s Caucus meeting of the governing body. While little is certain about the theatre’s future use, Teague said the public will be invited to comment.

The Tuesday Caucus is tomorrow night (July 17).  Anyone interested in the Westmont Theatre, its future or want to learn more about the study is encouraged to attend the meeting.
 

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Westmont Theatre receives historic preservation grant

This past fall –  Haddon Township, in partnership with the NCW, applied for the 2010 Historic Preservation Grant by the New Jersey Historic Trust. The 2010 Historic Preservation Grant Round is devoted to Historic Sites Management Grants and Capital Preservation Grants.

And just last week the Westmont Theatre was selected to receive a Historic Site Management Grant, which supports non-construction activities such as conditions assessments, engineering reports, construction documents, archaeology investigations, use feasibility studies and heritage tourism initiatives. The grant is for $50,000.00.

The award of this grant is a step in the right direction to restoring the theatre!

What’s going on with the Westmont?!

We’ve been getting a LOT of emails on the status of the Westmont. And as the old saying goes “no news is good news” may in fact be the case with the theatre, we still have our concerns. The NCW has reached out to the township several times in the past few months to schedule a  follow up meeting to their December business/strategic development plan they presented. They are still waiting to hear back from the township.

So, we have no news to report. Is that good or bad? We can’t say but we are hopeful. And now that spring is in the air, and the fence is down, perhaps forward movement will proceed. In either case we’ll keep you posted!

Westmont in The Philadelphia Inquirier

In yesterday’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer is another article on the Westmont Theatre.

“It has been more than 80 years since the Westmont Theatre opened in Haddon Township to showcase traveling vaudeville acts and silent films. And decades since a young Steven Spielberg sat in its darkened rows watching movies play across the screen…” click HERE to read more.

NCW presenting plan to Haddon Twp Mayor

Tonight the NCW is presenting their “draft” business/strategic development plan to the mayor.

This plan entails restoring the Westmont as a film and performing arts venue, and includes cost estimates for restoration, comparative income streams for performing arts venues, finance and operations, organization structure, marketing strategy, letters of support, programs and services, etc…

A LOT of hardworking individuals have spent countless hours developing this presentation. So it’s no surprise that people will want to know how it went ASAP. However, it is not certain if tonight’s outcome will become instant public knowledge. Rest assured that information will get posted here the moment it becomes publicly accessible!

In the meantime… fingers crossed!

Day two of the Westmont Marquee

Day 2 continues with the complete removal of the lower ceiling and a portion of the roof. More will follow….

Westmont Marquee with removed lower ceiling

The marquee opened up

Is this the start of something big?

So today Haddon Township started work on the marquee. They’re goal is to remove all the damaged pieces so that the fence can be removed from the sidewalk. As we’ve noted in our two recent posts… a lot of positive steps are coming into play for the theatre and this is one of those steps. Below are some picture that were taken throughout today.

Westmont Theatre Marquee with damaged ceiling

Construction crew removing damaged pieces

Marquee without metal ceiling

Follow up meeting with Mayor

The meeting with the Mayor went well last Thursday. Topics that were discussed included restoration costs and parking. The follow up meeting scheduled for this week is to further discuss cost restoration, parking and theatre operation (day-to-day), and to create an action plan.

More info to follow…

Teaser trailer for new Westmont film

Since the premiere of The Grand Old Lady in May 2007, filmmaker Brent J. Donaway has continued to follow and film the status of the theatre and those who work to see it preserved/restored as a film and performing arts venue. Below is a teaser trailer for his new film, which is slated to be released in 2010.

Event at Camden County College

Last night’s event at Camden County College went well. NCW members Allen Hauss, Nancy Leggoe and Brent Donaway attended and had a table setup with NCW/Westmont info. Over the course of an hour they handed out  several copies of the awareness flyer, the Westmont postcard and The Grand Old Lady commemorative book. The NCW awareness video was screened to students, professors, administrators and visiting journalists/film critics throughout the event.

They spoke with several people who remember going to the Westmont to see movies when they were younger. The Exorcist, which had its South Jersey premiere at the Westmont, was a topic of conversation for a few people. They remember all the commotion about that film and how people had to taken out on stretches/wheelchairs to the EMT trucks because they got ill/fainted while watching the film.

 

 Below is a picture of Allen and Nancy and the NCW table before the event began.