Community discusses uses for restored Burford
By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer
Once renovated, the Burford Theatre could serve as a hub of downtown
activity in Arkansas City, a dozen community members attending a
renovation planning meeting Thursday, agreed.
"I think it should be a hub for Ark City," Terry Eaton said. "We hear
the old stories of having elephants on stage and Ginger Rogers on
stage."
The theater, which was built in 1924, could be used to show classic
movies and art movies and as a venue for various performing groups,
meeting participants said.
Its old vaudeville stage would be a good place for performances of
classical chamber music, singing groups, theater productions, classic
rock-n-roll and children's theater, they said.
Upstairs rooms could be used as classrooms for young arts students, or
they could be used for artists' lofts or dance studios, others said. Or
they could house a restaurant or coffee shop.
"I would like to see it used for a variety of things," Jana Brown said.
"It's a building that should be preserved."
After vaudeville died out and movies became more popular, the stage
behind the single screen almost was forgotten.
Until 1985, the theater was a one-screen movie palace that seated 1,200,
including 404 in the balcony.
The theater was converted to a three-screen venue in 1985. Workers
placed false ceilings over the screening rooms, but left the original
fixtures, including decorative trim on the walls and ceiling, intact.
The next public meeting on the Burford renovation will be held at 7 p.m.
Sept. 28 at the Senior Citizens Center, 320 S. A Street.
"Anyone who wants to work on this project and hasn't been contacted,
please contact us," Ellen Snell, director of the Arkansas City Area Arts
Council, said. "It's not too late to get involved, and we want more
people's input on how the theater should be used."
Snell noted that the uses for other renovated theaters in Kansas are
varied. Different communities decide on different uses, ranging from
performing theaters, community theaters or theaters simply to show
movies.
"There's not one model for success," said Yazmin Wood, executive
director of the Arkansas City Area Chamber of Commerce. |
