Nearly 200 people showed up at Seymour’s Strand Theater Thursday night see its refurbished marquee filled with light for the first time.
Theater Manager Jeri Swinik threw the switch after dusk fell, according to Judy Simpson, chairperson of the Culture and Arts Commission, which oversees the theater.
“I gave her the option of being outside to see it lit or being inside to throw the switch,” Simpson said. “She said she’ll see it lit every weekend.”
Simpson said the neon on the sign was replaced by Hamden-based Elm City neon, and a company from Hartford made structural repairs to the sign, which she said leaked terribly.
“Every time you went to the theater and stood under the marquee, it leaked,” she said. “You could stand in the rain and be drier.”
The commission began talking about trying to fix up the theater about four years ago, Simpson said.
Since then, they’ve held events, from wine tastings to burlesque shows, to raise money for the repairs as part of a “Save Our Strand” campaign.
The work unveiled Thursday cost $28,872, split between the Culture and Arts Commission and the Knights of Columbus, who own the building and rent it to the city.
“It’s 100 percent paid for with no money from taxpayers,” Simpson said.
“We just really wanted to make this a focus point for our main street and a showcase for our town,” she said of the commission’s work with the Strand.
That work will go on, to make improvements throughout the rest of the theater, Simpson added.
Members of Culture and Arts Commission will begin to discuss what direction to take on future work at their next regular meeting Sept. 11.
The commission meets on the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. in the Flaherty Room at Town Hall.
