A public hearing on the planned restoration of the Robinson Grand Theater is set in Clarksburg.
The Exponent Telegram reports Tuesday’s hearing will give citizens an opportunity to learn more about the city’s plans to put the downtown landmark back into use.
The hearing is part of the city’s loan-application process with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. City Manager Martin Howe says the Clarksburg Municipal Building Commission is looking at borrowing between $6 million and $7 million from the agency.
Restoring the architectural landmark as a regional cultural center is one of the city’s goals for reviving downtown.
James Swiger, president of WYK Associates, which is the architect on the project, has said that planned improvements include a basement for dressing rooms, a stage with an orchestra pit and handicapped-accessible restrooms.
On Monday, August 11, 1924, Clarksburg native John W. Davis returned to his hometown to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. He still holds a place in state history as the only West Virginia to ever receive a major party’s nomination for the position.
Credit Provided by Rod Rogers
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John W. Davis giving his acceptance speech in Clarksburg, W.Va.
After a day of meetings, parades and celebrations, Davis took the stage in the Clarksburg neighborhood of Goff Plaza. With a major storm rolling in, he stood under and umbrella and accepted the nomination amid the sound of thunder and fireworks, set off prematurely.
“Davis never even flinched,” said Rod Rogers, former aide and speechwriter for Gov. Arch Moore who has studied, spoken and written about Davis’ life for years.
Davis had a long career in politics behind him. He was first elected to Congress in 1910, a position Rogers said he didn’t campaign for, but was nominated to do and easily won.
“Davis during his entire career didn’t believe that a man should seek the office, but that the office should seek the man which is contrary to the beliefs today in the political system.”
Credit Provided by Rod Rogers
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A piece of campaign memorabilia.
After years in Congress, Davis was appointed Solicitor General and argued more cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court than any attorney in history. He returned to private practice for a time, then was appointed Ambassador to England before returning to the United States and receiving his nomination.
The speech in Clarksburg is significant for many reasons, Rogers noted, the most remarkable of which was that the speech was the first ever broadcast live on the radio. Technicians from KDKA radio in Pittsburgh traveled to Clarksburg and set up their equipment in a field full of tens of thousands of people.
Just a few days later, the same KDKA crew traveled to Washington to broadcast the acceptance speech of then-President Calvin Coolidge.
Rogers has collected more than 4,500 pieces of memorabilia since the late 1980s, including campaign signs and buttons. He said he collects the material and shares Davis’s story because he wants West Virginians to remember their history and recognize the importance of what the state has meant to the country.
The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office has ordered Clarksburg to stop enforcing its building codes following a complaint by the state Fire Commission.
The Exponent Telegram reports that the complaint says the city’s building codes are unlawful. It also says the city’s code enforcement officers are uncertified. The complaint consolidates seven formal complaints that the commission received.
The newspaper says Assistant Attorney General Stephen R. Connolly told the city in a letter that it must stop all building code enforcement until it adopts a current version of the state building code, or until the complaints’ outcome.
City Manager Martin Howe declined to comment, saying he hadn’t received a copy of the letter yet.
The City of Clarksburg is looking to other municipalities across the state and around the country to aide in their endeavor to restore and rehabilitate a historic theater in the city’s downtown.
Clarksburg City Council voted in April to purchase the Rose Garden Theater, once known as the Robinson Grand, for $430,000 from C.J. Martin, James Lambert and David Rexroad, all of Upshur County.
Members said the city has been working to purchase the property since 2005, but the previous owner wasn’t interested in selling.
Since the decision to purchase the West Main Street property, City Manager Martin Howe said they are now looking for aide in funding the project with a $250,000 grant from the state Division of Culture and History and federal loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture of up to $3 million.
Clarksburg is also looking to other cities who have taken on similar projects for guidance in how to make their revitalized theater a success.
“We’ve reached out to multiple municipalities, some within the state, who have been successful in acquiring a theater and in also renovating it,” Howe said, “but also how they operate.”
Howe said the building is structurally sound but will need aesthetic upgrades, things like new bathroom fixtures, paint and seat cushions.
Once engineering and architectural bids have come in, Howe said the city will have a better timeline on when improvement will be completed.
Until then, Clarksburg is working to create a foundation to manage capital projects for the theater and will also be researching professional theater management firms to handle day-to-day operations.
Howe is also hopefully restoring the theater will draw more people downtown, enticing new businesses to open in the area.
