The Picture House Opens for Business

Tropical Storm Irene’s unexpected intrusion into the region may have caused some nail biting, but it won’t stop in Pelham from opening its doors Friday.

The venerable theater is starting up again after taking a roughly two-month break to replace a creaky plywood stage that is believed have been built in the 1930s.

Theater officials said a few last minute details were being handled Thursday afternoon. But everything is expected to be completed by Friday evening, when the theater is scheduled to show the Woody Allen film “Midnight in Paris” and the documentary “El Bulli: Cooking in Progress.”

“It’s close to the wire,” said Ilya Tovbis, director of film programming at the theater. “The hurricane took a couple of days from us, but we had a schedule in place and we had a date set for when everything needed to be completed.”

The Picture House, which opened in 1921, has been a place where classic films, independent movies and actors have been showcased in the community. The building, which is listed on the  U.S. National Register of Historic Places, was nearly demolished about 10 year ago before it was taken over by a nonprofit group.

Earlier this year, theater officials completed about $1 million worth interior renovations in order to get the place up to snuff. The construction of a new stage was supposed to be included in the renovation project, but it was cut out after additional structural problems were found in the building.

“Money that was set aside for the stage had to be used for other things that came up,” said Linda Corcoran, a spokeswoman for The Picture House. “You never know what you’ll find when you open up the walls of a building that old.”

One of those unforeseen repairs included the roof, which had to be replaced in some areas.

Fortunately, the theater was able to raise the additional $55,000 needed to build a new stage

Corcoran said the old stage was not in compliance with American with Disabilities Act, and wasn’t stable enough for use.

“It wasn’t a stage people really coulld use,” Corcoran said. “When we had celebrities like George Clooney, Sean Penn or Susan Sarandon visit to do sessions for a film, they’d have to sit in director’s chairs on the ground level.”

That arrangement made it hard for audience members seated in the back to see what was happening, according to Corcoran.

Corcoran said the new stage will allow the theater to expand its programming.

"It’s not just movies,” she said. “We can now rent it out for corporate meetings because we now have stage and a podium.”

Check the theater’s Website for information on its upcoming schedule.