FOTWT Meeting Notice!

The Friends of the Westmont Theatre, INC (FOTWT)  will meet on Thursday October 6th to discuss their fall and early 2012 fundraising strategy, the Halloween parade and other items. The meeting will be held at 6:30pm in the Rohrer Memorial library in Haddon Township.

All NCW members, and those wishing to get involved, are encouraged to attend.

It’s Official…FOTWT has non-profit group status

For the past few months the NCW has been working on their non-profit group status. We’re delighted to announce that Friends of the Westmont Theatre, Inc (FOTWT) is now a non-profit group. For those who aren’t aware, the FOTWT was formed to be a fundraising arm for the restoration and preservation of the Westmont Theatre. This fall they’ll start fundraising projects in/around the Haddon Township area.

Any interested in participating in a fundraiser, or making a donation,  is encouraged to send an email through our “About Us” tab.

We’re on our way!

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!

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.

Westmont in the Courier Post

Yesterday’s Sunday edition included a front page story on how Haddon Ave. aims to become Main St.  In the story there’s mention of 3 redevelopment projects happening in Haddon Township to help faciliate the “main street” presence, and one of those projects is the Westmont Theatre. Click here to read the full story…

Day three of the Westmont Marquee

On Friday the construction company removed the roof top on the marquee. Now you can look straight up and see the 2n story windows. More info and photos to follow…

Marquee without the roof

2nd story windows seen through the marquee

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.