Granada Theatre

For sale at http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite/Listing/Profile/Profile.aspx?LID=13967704

$9 a square foot as opposed to $370 per square foot for the Fine Arts in Beverly Hills. Seems a bargain.

Agreed, seems like a bargain!

how many years closed?

The Granada Theatre in Beaver Falls is also on the elegible list for the National Historic Register. Much of the interior architecture in this rare atmospheric theatre is still visible. The lovely facade is mostly original. There is a large municipal parking lot nearby, as well as another architecturally interesting building for sale adjacent to the theatre. There is currently some rental income.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR AN "ANGEL" TO RESTORE THIS RARE ATOMOSPHERIC THEATRE. Contact Elaine M. Savoldi, GRI, Commercial Real Estate Specialist, 724-728-0500 or esavoldi@remax.net

The medium income in BEVER FALLS is 25,ooo.oo

The city itself has a medium income of $25,000. The income of surrounding townships and boroughs is much higher. I would be happy to discuss any demographic information and growth in the Chippewa, Patterson Heights and Patterson township areas, as well as Cranberry Township, which is just fifteen minutes away on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, with free tolls from the Beaver Valley to Cranberry Exit. Beaver Falls is also within ten miles of the Ohio border. --Elaine M. Savoldi, esavoldi@remax.net

Its too bad nobody could step forward and buy the Granada. It seems that it will be demolished. Nothing like destroying history to house a brand new drug store.

We stopped in the Granada back in the early '70s right when it was being converted for indoor shopping use. The auditorium was still basically intact, and they were tearing down the draperies over the organ chambers. I remember going into the balcony and looking over the entire room, which still looked magical with its atmospheric ceiling and general theatre appointments still intact. The floor had been levelled with concrete and much more was to come. I stopped by again recently and walked in. While most everything in sight is covered up, the ornate lobby ceiling is still there and I'm told that the upper audotorium and balcony survive above the drop ceiling. The facade still retains a Spanish look, although greatly simplified, and the whole place still smells like a '20s movie palace! The organ was a 3-manual Morton which supposedly went to Geneva College years ago. I wonder if it still exists somewhere....... The Granada was very much a sister to the late Oriental in Rochester, PA, both theatres beautifully done by Michael DeAngelis.

As a tenant in the granada,(we have a nice nite club in basement).I have pics from the heyday both outside and inside.Also I have recent pictures of the auditorium and balcony area.Much of the stage area is intact.The north side lost a lot of plasterwork over the years from roof leakage along with the upper north balcony level.clarkw if you would like to see this area e-mail me at gault72@hotmail.com Some of The pics are on our website:www.spyndoctors.com look under Krooner's Lounge then look for granada history.

Wow! I will indeed e-mail you, as I would stand upside-down to see pics of this theatre in its glory (or any other photos, for that matter). Thanks so much!

Hello,

I been trying to look up some more information on this theatre in regards to its history and some current pictures. Also, does anyone know of the current real estate broker handling the theatre?

Thanx,

JG

Now listed for sale $90,000.00

Hello

LONGISLANDMOVIES--The theatre is in bad shape. I seen recent pictures of it. It has had the orchestra seating section filled in to grade level with concrete and they built stores and offices right into the auditorium right up to the proscenium which is still miraculously intact. However the big problem lies in the roof. It is a concrete slab roof and it is leaking right now and already caused major damage to one area of the building. The roof would have to be removed and replaced with a truss roof. Even if the building was gutted, the major problem would be dealing the leveled floor. So yes, while the $90,000 price tag is very attractive, it will take about 2 or 3 million to get the building back in shape. Beaver Falls, while a very nice town, is a victim of an area called the "Rust Belt". A town that is basically struggling to get back on its feet due to a mass exodus of people leaving when all the steel mills closed down in the 80's. They are making a comeback, which is a good thing. But it is a slow process. Should one start a busines here, you would have to allow much extra capital because the turn over will take a long time. Too much at risk for me, so I just went off to look for something in better condition. But if someone did have the bucks to plonk down on that theatre and restore it, it would be a tremendous asset to the town. As you can see from the pictures the facade is in excellent shape. I do like this building alot as it does reflect very much on the John Eberson Atmospherics. Restored this will prove to be a beautiful theatre. But the truth is, will the town be able to support a 1600 seat theatre? It is a pretty big place. I learned alot since I first found this building. I just know it it out of my league.

JG

mine also.I just allways update if i see a price change.

Hello

LONGISLANDMOVIES--I don't know if you are continuing to look for theatres on Long Island. There are some to be had with the recent closing of several multiplexes. But they are all of the newer, less elegant type. There is a big UA in Coram that closed down a while ago. I believe it is still standing. But the location is horrible. You can only see the billboards from the street as the building is set back. But unfortunately there isn't much on Long Island. Let alone I don't think you could start up a business here cheaply anyway. Taxes are too high. That is why I am moving. There seems to be a few other nice places in PA. But for me, I want a multi-functional place...one that can do both live shows and movies. One thing I am amazed that there are quite a few Drive-In's floating around, mostly in PA, Ohio, and Virginia. If that is your bag. But for me the search is still on.

JG

still looking .....been all over looking .....still have not found the perfectone,,,,,,

The Granada may soon be for sale again at a fraction of the asking price of $90,000!The owner has done some repairs to the roof to stop most of the leaking.The roof beams are still in perfect condition over the bldg.I personaly have seen them.the bldg. still needs a lot of work.The bldg.is also available to be on The Historic Landmark listing.More info. to come....

Here is an article about the conversion to retail in December 1973. The theater had been closed for thirteen years by that time.

What can you do with an old edifice?

BEAVER FALLS. Pa. - What can be done with an old theater building in a business district, short of tearing it down for redevelopment? One answer is conversion of the structure into a minimall with 13 stores and a restaurant-lounge. In Beaver Falls, it was a $250,000 venture undertaken by three businessmen. The minimall, first of its type in the area, opened this month with accolades from other business people and customers alike, pleased with conversion of an eyesore into something attractive and useful. In addition, it gave an aging business district a shot-in-the-arm. The first step was acquisition at a reasonable price of the property — which was closed as a movie theater in November 1960. The second step was borrowing a wad of money.

Lining up prospective tenants was necessary, too, like a fabrics shop, a branch outlet of a bakery, a toiletries-bath shop, men's sports and casual clothes, a nurses-waitresses uniform shop, tobacco and candy store, costume jewelry-cosmetics shop, paint, wallpaper and decorating store, photo shop, a carpet shop, an ice cream parlor and a sporting goods store.

Conversion of the theater building into a minimall involved tearing out much of the first floor and building a shell within the structure. There were 1,098 tons of fill used to make the first floor level and 110 cubic yards of concrete poured. The Spanish motif of the former Theater — named the Granada — was preserved and enhanced in the conversion. The marquee was retained and redecorated in Spanish stucco and the front of the building was cleaned and floodlighted with mercury vapor lights. Besides the main entrance, two entrances were provided from an alley at the rear — near a parking lot and adjacent street.

The minimail has 8,800 square feet of space on the first floor and there are 2,500 square feet of useable space in the basement, where a soon-to-be-opened restaurant-lounge is located. The restaurant-lounge has the capacity to seat about 135 persons for dinner and there are entrances from within the mall and directly from outside. The former mezzanine and office of the theater provide for storage area and offices Use of the balcony for a mini-theater is a possibility.

Another possibility being given serious consideration is constructing entrances between the minimall and multistory mercantile buildings adjoining on either side. The minimall— named Granada at Seventh — has done much to renovate one block in the business district, along with a new Mellon Bank branch recently constructed directly across Seventh Avenue. Promotion helps, too — just as it did in the theater business. When the minimall opened in mid-November, the developers had a 61 ½ foot cake stretched across the property's frontage. The cake was sliced into 2,500 pieces and distributed to visitors.

Nice info input Ken,

I do understand that because of the conversion, the building still stands today. But the conversion was also destructive. The leveling of the floor would take quite a bit to undo. If they made the floor wooden instead, then it would have made the conversion that much easier to remove. This of course is on top of the other problems the building has such as the aforementioned ceiling.

I would say that a partial reversion is possible because there is no way that Beaver Falls could support a theatre this big any more. But it is possible that the balcony, roof and walls can be restored and part of the orchestra section restored. This way some stores could remain in the mini-mall section. This WOULD be a good plan of action as this would make most of the building in terms of generating income. Naturally the lobby and entrance to the theatre would be far from original, but everything else could be made as close to original as possible. This theatre did/does have a huge balcony. I believe close to 700 of its original 1600 capacity was in the balcony.

I do have a good plan for this building, but alas, the funds...it boils down to the funds. I believe 3-4 mil could do it, but I never worked out the specifics. One thing is for sure, I KNOW this will be one helluva beauty if restored.

Geo

Geo:

I am in the process of developing a feasibility study for the Granada and would love to hear your ideas. Please contact peter@margittai.com

PMA

I don't know how much of the building they occupy, but Krooner's Lounge is located at this address. Here is a website that gives the same address as this theater. Click on Granada Theater at the bottom of the page for history and photos of the Granada Theater. That website claims that the Granada opened on December 23, 1930. It replaced a previous theater on the site named the Colonial Theater/New Colonial Theater. As a movie theater, the Granada closed November 30, 1960. Some nice photos are on that page. You can click on the last photo to expand it.

Hello Lost (Peter, you might want to 'listen in' on this).

The Krooner's Lounge is located in the basement of the theatre. As far as I know the basement only extends as far as the original lobby did and stopped when the floor started to slope down. I was never in the club, so I am not 100% sure. I would say that the club would not really interfere with the restoration of the theatre and I personally had full intention of keeping the club where it was. The only issue that did come to mind was loud music from the club interfering with a performance in the main auditorium. More then likely heavy soundproofing techniques would have to be employed and this will add to the renovation costs. In fact I am not even 100% sure if such a total isolation could even be done. So this is a tough call, but a problem that has to be addressed nonetheless. One thing that could work out is if the theatre shows performances in a different time slow from when the club opens. Or the club could even open later (or play the loud music later). Again it is a tough call. I really didn't want to put the cart before the horse, but it was something I was thinking about and it would have to be addressed. Since my plan was to create a full entertainment complex...having the nightclub within the building was a nice added touch and further, they are a tenant and a source of income. So certainly I would want to keep them where they are.

Peter, if your plan does get underway...this is something that you do have to think about. Probably the best thing to do is go in the theatre one evening when the club has an event going on and just do some sound tests for yourself to see how bad the 'leakage' is.

If isolation isn't cost effective, then other constructive alternatives would have to be employed so the two business' do not interfere with each other.

Geo

Peter,

I don't know if you contacted the company that did that abomination of a conversion. They are still in business as I understand it and I believe they also have drawings of the theatre prior to the conversion. This may help you out in attempting to reconstruct the building.

My idea was to get the original plans as wells as the plans for the way the building is currently set up. Since you would never use the original 1600+ capacity, you could possibly do a partial restore in which much of the audiotorium's originality could be maintained, but yet you can keep some space for retail rentals for extra income.

I do have to run, but you have my email address. Just contact me and let me explain to you what I saw done over at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro, Vermont. What I saw in this theatre, changed my mind about theatre conversions...and I think the concept they adopted there could help you out here. In the end you will have a more versatile structure but yet still tastefully retaining much of it's guilded past.

Geo

Can anyone provide an update?

We are in Dire Straits here.Castlebrook aka Calaco has purchased this bldg.along with the surrounding bldgs.and plan on demolishing these bldgs.for "developement"Any help out there?

You might consider nominating the Granada to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places http://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/forms.htm Dan Holland with the Young Preservationists of Pittsburgh might also be able to help - holland6@aol.com

1982 photo of the Granada Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c38%2c3%2c-1&ProductID=32828
Different angle
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c38%2c3%2c-1&catpageindex=17&ProductID=32830

Here is another 1982 photo.

This theater is about to be demolished: story here:
http://www.timesonline.com/bct_news/news_details/article/1373/2009/december/17/granada-theater-in-beaver-falls-being-torn-down.html

Longisland...Is there such a thing as the perfect Theatre? I mean even one that's old, Shame is even though it'has been left to rot, it's still probably better built than what you get today...

It should be mentioned that in the link that CWalczak posted, there is another great website embedded within the readers comments section at the bottom of the article.
It includes some great pictures of the Granada and even it's interior.

So be sure to read all the way down.

It seems there's no mention in the article on what happened or why the non for profit effort failed. Though it seemed as recent as 2008 if I read correctly.

Here is the direct link that David mentioned.

http://www.spyndoctors.com/granada_history.html

Demolishing this theater is a preservation travesty to all! The article references policians that doesn't act on behalf of constituents and other theater preservationists and patrons. It is not at all beyond restorable.

Has City Council ever heard of acquiring grants after applying for State & National Register status? Landmark status? Working with the League of Historic American Theatres?

SHAME ON PA CITY COUNCIL!

- Michael Perlman from NY

Sad to read that this theatre will be demolished. The architect, Michael DeAngelis is the same architect who designed my former hometown theatre in Westfield NY...the Grand Theatre. Though Beaver Falls City Administrator, Steve Johnson is quoted as saying..."It would be cheaper to build a new building"....it wouldn't be the same, Mr. Johnson!

And in this day and age, I can't believe that Beaver Falls has chosen to bring this theatre down with its gorgeous facade like it was the 1970's with 1970's theatre mentality! Shame! Shame!

David: I just found the flickr photos and am truly amazed after seeing them. I just can't believe that Beaver Falls PA would adapt an urban renewal 1970's mentality! Someone needs to contact someone who can step up to the plate and save this cinema treasure as December 30 is just around the corner!

Here is a 1932 newspaper ad:
http://tinyurl.com/ydq6h92

Patsy, can you do the contacting? You are more familiar with this theater than I am.

Native: I'm only familiar with this theatre through my CT membership so anyone can contact this theatre and let them know we aren't in favor of it being demolished. I sent an email to Elaine Sovaldi (esavoldi@remax.net) though it was deliverable so I left a phone message @ 724-728-0500. One of her posts goes back to 2005 so she and others have been trying to save this theatre for a very long time and time may not be on their side anymore. I will let everyone know what Elaine has to say when she calls me. I'm sure she will return my call since my message ended with "we have to talk"!

The spelling of her name was incorrectly typed..it is not Sovaldi, but rather Savoldi as in her email address though I wasn't able to send an email to that address. If anyone wants to contact her, I suggest calling her busines number!

"Beaver Falls Mayor Karl Boak lamented the passing of the city landmark." That's nice to know, but it won't save it come December 30th! My wish for the new year would be for someone to prove this community wrong and restore the Granada! Nothing is impossible!
posted by Patsy on Dec 27, 2009 at 12:42pmIf anyone is interested in contacting the Beaver Falls Mayor's office in regards to the Granada, here is the address/number though time is running out for the Granada. A call would get to him much sooner!

Beaver Falls Mayor's Office (Mr. Karl Boak)
715 15th Street, Beaver Falls, PA
(724) 847-2808‎

posted by Patsy on Dec 27, 2009 at 12:47pm

And there was no email address provided to contacting Mr. Boak. If he were to get enough calls, it just might stop or at least delay the demolition. Look at the beautiful Fox in Atlanta....... it was saved at the 11th hour!

"This of course is on top of the other problems the building has such as the aforementioned ceiling." Can anyone tell me about what was changed in regards to the original ceiling? Was a lowered ceiling put in and the original ceiling still remains?

"The auditorium was leveled with concrete and divided into tiny shops and offices. Above the suspended ceiling, the auditorium was left largely intact." This quote was taken from the site http://www.spyndoctors.com/krooners.html

I can't quite picture how this all must have looked...the word, strange comes to mind and very disturbing to think that the citizens of Beaver Falls didn't band together to save this theatre. Even after it was closed for 13 years it was completely intact then and wouldn't have taken much to restore it....then!

Below is Elaine Savoldi's reply to me in regards to the Granada Theatre. Elaine is based in Beaver Falls PA which is about 20 minutes from Beaver PA where the Granada was located.

Dear Patsy,

I am also saddened by the scheduled and certain demise of the Granada Theatre. I had the property listed for a time and that is why I put the information on Cinema Treasures, in the hopes that someone who would be able/willing to restore the theatre would discover it. I went so far as to send packets of information on the theatre with someone who attended a theatre convention in Las Vegas.

What also hurts is that my company, Town Center Associates, is heavily involved in downtown revitalization. Indeed, the Granada was on the waiting list to be put on the National Register of Historic Places, but none of the owners, nor the community, stepped forward to make sure that this very rare atmospheric theatre would be preserved. Restoring a theatre is an effort that needs community support.

I am not sure how I can help you because the process has already been started and I doubt can be reversed. Perhaps you could seek out other theatres in the country that still have a chance at being saved, and place your efforts there.

Sincerely,

Elaine Savoldi