Houston, Bob.  "Doors Swing Open On Civic Center" Jamestown (NY) Post-Journal.
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Doors Swing Open On Civic Center
By Bob Houston


     Cloudy skies and rain did not dampen the spirits of several hundred Jamestown residents during the ribbon-cutting ceremony to reopen the Reg Lenna Civic Center at noon today.

    Philip Morris, the Civic Center's executive director, started the ceremony with a quote from the movie Field Of Dreams.

   " 'If you build it, they will come,' " Morris said. "And I hope that's true for us for many, many years to come."

    During the brief ceremony, Reginald and Elizabeth Lenna received a loud and lengthy round of applause for their initial $1 million gift to the Civic Center renovation project.

    Lenna said, "Both Betty and I are very pleased that the work has come to a conclusion.  Our dream has come true."

    The white ribbon stretched across the inner lobby doors was cut simultaneously by Mayor Donald W. Ahlstrom; Kenneth Strickler, chairman of the capital campaign; John Samuelson, representative of the stagehand's union; County Executive Andrew W. Goodell; and state Assemblyman William Parment.

    As soon as the ribbon was cut, the doors to the auditorium swung open and the crowd moved inside.

    There, some people joined guided tours of the building, while others bought commemorative mugs, booklets and posters at the counter set up in the inner lobby.

    "Wow!" one little girl was heard to shout when she stepped through the door into the auditorium.

    "Isn't this beautiful?" said the woman with her.

    But Morris said earlier that the grand reopening is "not about the beautiful building or about the revitalization of downtown or any of the other things that are real, tangible reasons for why we've done this project. 

    "Today is about the ability to make stories again,"  Morris said.  "This theater will generate stories for people about people - stories about kids coming to the theater and 'I remember when' stories for the next generation."

    David Shepherd, president of the Reg Lenna Civic Center Board of Directors, said, "We are absolutely delighted to have reached this day.  It's the culmination of much hard work on the part of many, many people, and it's a great day for Jamestown."

    Shepherd thanked "everybody who contributed to this project, from the first Harry Chapin concert with the leaky roof in 1981 to today.  We thank them all."

    Ahlstrom said the reopening is "the culmination of a dream on the part of many people.  It came about through the vision and hard work of many leading citizens in this community."

    The Civic Center "is going to turn out to be a tremendous asset and a catalyst for downtown Jamestown," Ahlstrom said.

    Former Jamestown Mayor Steven B. Carlson said the renovated theater is "absolutely breathtaking.  I believe it's more than we have ever hoped for when we began the effort to try to save and rebuild this into a community theater.  It's spectacular."

    Goodell said the reopening is a " great event.  It reflects the tremendous public spirit that is here in Jamestown and the surrounding area."

    The renovation work itself, Goodell said, "is a real tribute to the people who had the foresight to turn a dream into reality and to the hundreds of volunteers who contributed so much to help make this happen."

    While several hundred people toured the theater this afternoon, by 7:30 tonight the theater will be filled to capacity and ready for the second round of grand reopening events, said Misty Sorensen, the Civic Center's Director of Marketing and Publicity.

    For the evening ceremonies at the Civic Center, she said, Mitchell Anderson will be the Master of Ceremonies.

    Anderson, a 1979 Jamestown High School graduate, is co-star of television's Doogie Howser, M.D. series and soon will be seen as the grown up Huck Finn on the Disney Channel's Back To Hannibal.

    On the bill tonight will be The American Vaudeville Theater, with music, comedy, magic, song and dance.

    Among the guests will be Lt. Gov. Stan Lundine and Kitty Carlisle Hart, chairwoman of the New York State Council on the Arts.

    The evening's show includes song and dance by Jones and Boyce, modern-day vaudevillians who specialize in tap and ballroom dancing; the comedy duo "Sons of Fun"; a magic show by Rob and Carol Allen; and a closing song sung by everyone in the building.

    Music will be provided by Terry Waldo at the Civic Center's Steinway grand piano, along with Eric Wills and David Lobenstein.

    Following the evening show, there will be a reception across the street from the theater in the Williamsburg Room in the Commons Mall.

    The reception costs $10.

    "The reception will be a community party," Mrs. Sorensen said.  "It will be appropriate for children and it's the only event of the day that has a price."

    The reason for the cost, she said, is that, "right from the start we want the community to know we're going to be good stewards of the public trust in how we handle expenses."

    The Spring Street parking ramp will be open until midnight to accommodate cars.  Parking will be $1, Mrs. Sorensen said.

01/16/2004