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Wow, I have never even heard of this building before!   

 

Carnegie Center begins restoration of theater

Neglected not once, but twice; now revival at hand

 

By Sara Pearce

Enquirer staff writer

 

The hall is silent and dark.

 

The symphony concerts, political rallies and town meetings that once filled its narrow seats are a part of history.

 

Plaster drops off the ceiling in clumps. There are no signs of the intricate decorative painting that once stretched out across the ceiling.

^ Yeah, it's down by Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption.

  • 2 months later...

From the 4/26/05 Kentucky Post:

 

The interior of the auditorium of the Carnegie Theater seen from the stage.  TERRY DUENNES/The Post

 

Carnegie Center begins drive

By Jerry Stein

Post staff reporter

 

The Carnegie Visual + Performing Arts Center will take a step closer to realizing its dream of renovating its 1904 theater in Covington with the kickoff tonight of a $1.2 million public fund-raising campaign.

 

Nancy Henry Chadwick, executive director of the center at 1028 Scott Blvd., said $1.3 million in pledges are already in hand to support the reconstruction.

  • 3 months later...

An update from the 8/15/05 Enquirer:

 

Aging jewel being returned to youthful glory

By Sara Pearce

Enquirer staff writer

 

OK, it's not Rome's Sistine Chapel.

 

And painter Edward Magee is not Michelangelo.

 

But like the Renaissance Italian master, Magee spends backbreaking hours working atop scaffolding built close to a very high ceiling that people soon will be craning their necks to gape at.

I went to a fundraising party at the Carnegie that a friend was helping to put on about a year ago.  What an awesome building!  It is a gem and I'm glad that they are finishing up the restoration.  They were still working on the theater when I was there but you could tell that it would be incredible once completed.  I have to say I don't spend too much time in art galleries, but they also had some really cool exhibitions from local artists and what a great space to display them in.  More people need to check this place out. 

I agree.  I didn't even know about the building until about 2 years ago, but it's definitely worth seeing.

  • 4 months later...

An update from the 12/30/05 NKY Sunday Challenger:

 

Carnegie Theater Readies for a Spring Debut

By Lew Moores

The Sunday Challenger

[email protected]

 

COVINGTON - Renovation work on the old Carnegie Theater is expected to be completed early next year, with an opening tentatively planned for March 11.

 

The theater is part of the Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts campus, but hasn't been used on a regular basis since 1955. Renovation work began in the spring.

  • 1 month later...

From the 2/1/06 Enquirer:

 

House of worship yields to sculpture

Arts center will expand onto adjacent site

BY SARA PEARCE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

COVINGTON - A sculpture garden will be the next addition to this city's Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center. The Carnegie has purchased the Church of God building next to it at Scott Boulevard and Lynn Street and is in the process of demolishing it.

 

"Church of God was bursting at the seams, and we started having a neighborly discussion with them about space and about them maybe using our buildings sometimes," says Nancy Henry Chadwick, executive director of the Carnegie.

  • 3 weeks later...

From the 2/15/06 Cincinnati Post:

 

 

Singer, comedy troupe to mark theater opening

Post staff report

 

World-renowned singer and pianist Michael Feinstein and the Second City improv troupe from Chicago will help open the newly renovated theater within Covington's Carnegie Center. The restored theater at the Carnegie Visual + Performing Arts Center will open with a three-day gala March 24-26.

 

On March 24, the Second City troupe will perform, followed by salsa dancing in the gallery rotunda. Second City is known for its first-rate stand-up comedians (and has been a breakthrough performance opportunity for many a "Saturday Night Live" star).

  • 2 weeks later...

From the 2/27/06 Cincinnati Post:

 

Carnegie's theater lives again

Covington center a new arts jewel for city

By Jerry Stein

Post staff reporter

 

Covington has a new star. It's not a person but the handsomely renovated theater at the Carnegie Visual + Performing Arts Center that opens with a weekend gala March 24-26.

 

The theater, located at 1028 Scott Blvd. at Robbins Street, was built in 1904 along with the Carnegie Library. The Beaux Arts library, originally separate from the theater, was converted to a series of renovated galleries in 1972.

The City of Covington does some really cool restoration work:

-Covington Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

-Odd Fellows Hall

-And now the Carnegie Center

 

Great work Covington  :clap:

  • 3 weeks later...

All stories from the 3/19/06 Enquirer:

 

Spotlight on Carnegie

Curtain will rise again on Covington theater where architecture is a beautiful attraction

BY SARA PEARCE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

Cracked plaster.

 

Peeling paint.

 

Piles of debris.

 

A carpet of dust.

 

Holes in the roof through which the sky could be seen.

I went to the first event in the newly renovated Otto M Budding theater in the Carnegie Center last night.  It was the touring company of Chicago's Second City improv group - which I might add was hilarious!  Before the show, the Theater Director came on stage and presented a short version of a documentary he and friend had been working on chronicling the history of the Carnegie building.  It's really fascinating to see the state that the building was in for years because it is in magnificent shape today. 

 

The last time I had been in the theater, about two years ago,  it had plaster being ripped out and was a mess in general.  It was apparent how much hard work has gone on since that time because it has been completely restored to its full glory.  For anyone who has never been, they are hosting an open house with free admission tomorrow, Sun 26th.  You should go and check it out.

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