Pelham Picture House Gets its First Stage

Though the ceremonious , and the renovated 90-year-old Pelham Picture House was officially unveiled in March, the historic structure still has another design project underway: Building a $55,000 stage.

The Picture House has always showcased the work of classic and independent actors on its big screen, but it never had a stage upon which  artists could perform live. The venue just had a simple platform, made of plywood, that was unusable and not even ADA compliant. While the Picture House hoped to build a stage during the original renovations, unforeseeable expenses pushed this endeavor to the side.

"Anyone that has done major renovations to an older home knows that there can be more to it than the originally planned work," remarked Executive director Jennifer Christman. "The Picture House is a 1921 structure and there were several surprises as renovations got underway. Money that would have paid for the stage had to go to major roof repairs – in fact, some areas of the roof had to be replaced – to name one surprise."

Once the major renovations were complete, the Picture House had a 90th birthday to celebrate and knew exactly what present to ask for. During , Picture House representatives described the project's potential. Guest speakers will be able to address the crowd from an elevated position. The Picture House will also be able to host live bands, comedy acts and readings that it currently can't accommodate. Acting students will test their skills on the big stage too.

Once the crowd heard the details of the project, their paddles shot up during the fundraising portion of the event, and the Picture House raised the $55,000 it needed. 

Raymond Beeler Architects will serve as the lead architect and will commence the project on July 13. It's slated to take about six weeks to complete, during which time only the Media Classroom will be open for education programs.