The Seymour Culture and Arts Commission is hoping town hall will have better success in getting grants to fund much-needed repairs at the Strand Theater.
The commission recently asked the Board of Selectmen for assistance in applying for grants to repair the marquee, easily noticed on Main Street, and the interior of the theater.
Linda Bellavance, a member of the Culture and Arts Commission, said the commission was unsuccessful in its recent grant applications to fix the building, which the town leases from the Knights of Columbus and operates to show movies on weekends.
“We just want to make sure we keep up with the repairs,” Bellavance said. “The place is by no means falling apart, but if you have a house, it needs painting after a while.”
Town grants coordinator Christine Battis said it will cost nearly $6,000 to paint the theater’s interior, including the foyer, and another $1,400 to paint the seats.
Battis said she expects to submit grant applications next spring to the state and private foundations to finance the interior Strand repairs. She is preparing grant applications for other town projects already.
Commission members do not have a cost estimate for the old-style marquee, one of about four left in the state, but they would prefer to preserve it than try to replace it.
Bellavance said it needs painting and new tiles as it often leaks after rainfall. There are also birds nesting on it, Battis said.
The historic nature of the overhanging marquee means it cannot be fixed by just anyone. Commission Chairwoman Judy Simpson expects to have the work paid for entirely through grants instead of asking for public dollars.
“The theater has been in town for over 60 years and we just want to restore it and keep the old-fashioned theater in town,” Simpson said. “We’re not in competition with the mega-theaters. We want to keep the quaintness of the town.”
