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Yeadon Theatre Heavily Damaged In Blaze
posted by
btkrefft
on
January 9, 2006 at 6:51 am
YEADON, PA — The 69 year-old Yeadon Theatre sustained heavy damage in a fire in the early hours of Sunday morning, January 8th according to a story in today’s Centre Daily Times. Borough Fire Chief Craig Jeffries said, “The fire was actually shooting out into the middle of the street”. The fire started in the lobby/vestibule area, and was confined to the front of the building. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
The John Eberson-designed Art Moderne movie theater opened in 1937 and closed in 2001. Its rear wall was demolished in 2003, but at the last moment, the theater’s demolition was halted, thanks to a campaign by preservationists who hoped that the Yeadon could be reopened one day as a performing arts venue.
Council President Vivian Brooker Ford said the theater’s future will be discussed at a council meeting tonight. A decision on the theater’s integrity will be made once the evaluation by an engineer is completed.
For more information, read this report.
Comments (1)
Truly sorry to hear about this and I hope that the Yeadon is salvagable. Sounds like the fire was confined mostly to the lobby area, so there is reason to believe a restoration will be possible. I will take one very positive thing away from reading this item and that is: that a prescious cinema treasure can be saved from extinction even as demolition was already begun! This gives hope to those of us who support the opposition to the proposed redevelopment of the RKO Kieth’s in Flushing, Queens, NY.