If the question is “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?,” then the answer Thursday was unquestionably: the Sterling Opera House in Derby.
A vandal spray painted the name “Romeo” on the front door of the opera house, which has undergone an exterior makeover in the past several years.
Rich DiCarlo, president of the Valley Arts Council and a member of Save Our Sterling, said he suspected the graffiti was posted sometime Thursday afternoon because he didn’t see it when he walked by the door in the morning.
The graffiti didn’t last long, though.
DiCarlo borrowed “Simple Green“ cleaning product from nearby Derby hot dog vendor, Mark Lanzieri, who parks his hot dog stand in front of the Opera House.
DiCarlo said the cleaner was able to remove the unwanted lettering from the door. (Click play on the video above for proof.)
Other graffiti, scribbled on an outer brick wall, was not as easily removed. It had been there some time, DiCarlo said.
DiCarlo planned to erase that as well.
“For that I’ll need a wire brush,” DiCarlo said.
Officials hope to get more money to restore the interior and eventually get the theater active with shows, concerts and speaking engagements again. It has been vacant since the late 1960s.
“There’s no place for that (vandalism) around here,” DiCarlo said Thursday. “You put a lot of trouble to repair a building and someone defaces it.”
