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PARK THEATRE PROPOSAL
Presentation to the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council, Cobourg 15 May 2016
Thank you for receiving us tonight to present letters of support for acquiring and reopening the Park Theatre, and suggestions from the informal group Friends of the Park Theatre.
We believe that this is an auspicious time to review the status of the building within the
context of the Town's recent adoption of the Downtown Master Plan, the soon-to-beadopted Heritage Master Plan, and the Town's intent to create a culture policy for
Cobourg.
The initial efforts to secure the Park Theatre were led by the Cobourg & East Northumberland Branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario in 2015. These efforts resulted in:
•
Building Condition Assessment by GRG Building Consultants paid for by ACO
Cobourg & East Northumberland
Heritage Report by renowned heritage architect Philip Goldsmith
Pledge for $20,000.00 in financial support from ACO Cobourg & East Northumberland, approved AGM May 2015
Informal consultations with many of Northumberland's performing arts institutions
Offer of professional services to create a not-for-profit corporation
Meeting with Regional Advisor, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport
Review of grant programs offered at provincial and federal level
Tonight we present letters that provide support in principle for acquiring and restoring
the Park Theatre so that it can become a community asset to be used for the cultural
and economic benefit of not only Cobourg but the residents of all of Northumberland.
Letters have been received from:
Alan Bradley, Cobourg-born author, present at the theatre's opening in 1948
Eitan Cornfield, President of Friends of Music
Don Owen, local business owner
Joanne Bonebakker, Executive Director, Northumberland Learning Connection
Chief James R. Marsden, Alderville First Nation
Felicity Pope, Past-President, ACO Cobourg & East Northumberland
Myrtle Wardman, Cobourg resident
Finally, we wish to make two suggestions to you, Mr. Mayor and Council:
• That the Town use its corporate powers to secure the building given its status of being
in tax arrears, non-compliance with Cobourg's Building Standards by-law as determined by the Town's Property Standards Officer (order served December 1, 2015),
and its urgent need of repairs as indicated in the consultants' report.
PARK THEATRE PROPOSAL
• That the Town commission a Feasibility Study to identify the best use of the building.
In conclusion, to quote from Alan Bradley's letter "To my mind, a vibrant centre for the
arts is as essential to any healthy community as the town hall, the school, or the hospital".
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Corcoran
Carol and Tony Farren
Lynn Hardy
Felicity Pope
Gail Rayment
Malcolm Wardman
IT
ARCHITECTURAL
CONSERVANCY
ONTARIO
COBOURG & EAST
NORTHUMBERLAND
20 April 2016
The Mayor and Council, Town of Cobourg
do The Clerk, Victoria Hall
55 King Street West, Cobourg K9A 2M2
Dear Mr. Mayor,
ACO Cobourg & East Northumberland strongly support the acquisition and renovation and reuse
of the Park Theatre, Cobourg. As you know it's one of the few Art Modeme buildings left in
Eastern Ontario. The building's heritage attributes combined with its location within the
downtown commercial heritage conservation district argue strongly for its preservation and
reuse.
Since our original proposal to you and Council in February 2015 ACO has continued to do due
diligence regarding this project resulting in:
•
.
•
.
•
Heritage Report by renowned heritage architect Philip Goldsmith
Building Condition Assessment by GRG Buildings Consultants
Pledge of $20,000.00 financial support from ACO Cobourg & East Northumberland
Informal consultations with many of Northumberland's performing arts institutions
Offers of professional services to create a not-for-profit corporation
Meeting with Regional Advisor, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport
Yours sincerely,
612 s
Felicity Pope
President
P.O. Box 1013, Cobourg, Ontario K9A 4W4
The past. Our present. Your future.
NLF
Northumberland
Learning Connection
P.O. Box 64
Cobourg, ON K9A 4K2
April 20, 2016
Mr. Gil Brocanier, Mayor
Council, Town of Cobourg
do The Clerk
Victoria Hall
55 King Street West
Cobourg, ON
K9A 2M2
Dear Mayor and Council members,
As a member of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, Cobourg branch, I write to support in
principle the efforts made to date by the Town of Cobourg Council, ACO Cobourg and East
Northumberland, and a group of local citizens to conserve the Park Theatre.
This unique Art Moderne building is intrinsically worthy of restoration. Its revival would add
significantly to Cobourg's reputation of a town that has successfully accomplished the restoration and
reuse of Victoria Hall. Cobourg deserves its own Performing Arts Centre dedicated to Canadian
developed and produced productions.
Its location, in the centre of the proposed entertainment district at Cobourg's eastern 'gateway,'
provides an ideal opportunity for Cobourg to become a major cultural centre in Northumberland
Country and a tourist destination. Theatre goers and tourists could be enticed to spend a week-end in
our County and attend productions at the Park Theatre and the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope. The
economic benefits to Cobourg would be considerable.
I sincerely hope that Council will consider supporting the plan for the conservation and reuse of the
Park Theatre.
Kind regards,
j
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0
Joanne C.A. Bonebakker (B.A. Hons.)
Executive Director
Northumberland Learning Connection
www.northumberlandlearningconnection.ca
ALDERVILLE FIRST NATION
11696 2" Line P.O. Box 46
Roseneath, Ontario KOK 2X0
Phone: (905) 352-2011
Fax: (905) 352-3242
Chief: James R. Marsden
Councillor: Julie Bothwell
Councillor: Jody Holmes
Councillor: Dave Mowat
Councillor: Angela Smoke
April 20, 2016
The Mayor and Council, Town of Cobourg
do Felicity Pope
314 College Street,
Cobourg, Ontario K9A 3V4
To The Mayor and Council;
It is my pleasure to provide a letter of support and recommendation for the Friends of the Park
Theatre's proposal to acquire, conserve, restore, and reuse the Park Theatre as a Centre for
Performing Arts and Storytelling. The Chief and Council of Alderville First Nation feel that this
project will result in many benefits; while bringing together the citizens of Cobourg,
Northumberland County, and surrounding communities.
Due to the historical and cultural value of the building; and the convenient location in the down
town area overlooking the beautiful Victoria Park; the Park Theatre is an ideal location for a
Centre for Performing Arts and Storytelling. The creation of a space where artists can come to
share and promote their talents with the local and surrounding communities; and also pass their
knowledge on to new and emerging artists, will have positive impacts that will ripple out for
generations to come. This project will provide positive social and economic benefits to the
Town of Cobourg and Northumberland County through an increase in tourism and the creation
of a healthy environment for all ages to participate in entertainment programs and events.
The Chief and Council of Alderville First Nation are very happy to endorse and support this
highly interesting and valuable project.
Sincerely,
/
Chief James R. Marsden
01
,e44&‘41 q
Cobourg, Ont.,
To the Clerk, Mayor and Members of Council of The Town of Cobourg
May 11,2016
Regarding the Park Theatre
I am writing this letter to urge the Council to support the efforts of the Friends of the Park
Theatre financially in the purchase, and restoration, of this heritage building and its importance
to saving downtown Cobourg as the Shaw Festival did for Niagara on the Lake.
These are my personal remembrances of the effects of the Shaw Festival Theatre on the Town
of Niagara on the Lake.
I grew up in St. Catharines and my older sister lived in Niagara on the Lake as her husband was
in the army and it was a military training base until 1966 when it was closed. I remember it in the
1940s and 1950s as a small quiet village. The only stores on the Queen Street seemed to be
Greave's Jam store and factory, a hardware store and a drug store which is now a museum.
The Shaw Festival, which was founded in 1962, changed all this dramatically. The Niagara
Region was considered a depressed area. The opening of the Shaw changed this especially for
Niagara on the Lake. As well as saving two heritage buildings, the Court House and the Royal
George movie theatre and the 1972 opening of the Festival Theatre the streets are full of shops
and restaurants. Last year when we had our annual trip to Niagara on the Lake we could hardly
move down the street for visitors. The Shaw has brought an economic revival to the Town as
well as the surrounding area. I see a similar future for Cobourg if the saving and reviving of the
Park Theatre is accomplished.
Sincerely,
Myrtle Wardman
Isle of Man
12 February, 2016
The Mayor and Council, Town of Cobourg
c/o The Clerk, Victoria Hall
55 King St West, Cobourg K9A 2M2
When the Park Theatre opened its doors in 1948, I was there. Who
could ever forget the glamour of it all, from the comfort of the upholstered
seats to the drink dispenser in the lobby, which appeared to be a rocketship
from another planet?
In the years to come, I was to spend much of my time in the warm
safety of those surroundings, shoulder to shoulder with the other kids — and
adults, too, of Cobourg — having the world presented to us on a platter.
It was here that we explored King Solomon's Mines with Stewart
Granger; visited the Left Bank of Paris with Gene Kelly; suffered the heat of
India with the boy, Kim; holidayed in Bali with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby; sat
at the feet of Somerset Maugham in his study as he explained the human
nature in his novels; watched over his shoulder as Toulouse Lautrec created
his masterpieces, and wept at the tragedy of Cyrano de Bergerac.
Together we experienced the laughs, the horrors, and the tears.
And then there was that grand occasion when Cobourg's own Jarko
Zavi was featured in a National Film Board short. Think of it! That was us up
there on the screen!
The Park was our very own Globe Theatre, and it was here, in the
smell of hot popcorn, that we were introduced to Mark Twain, to Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle, and to Shakespeare. It was here that we honoured our own
dead when Cobourg's 331-cl Med. Regiment paraded to the Park for the
opening of Cockleshell Heroes.
Only later in life did I begin to realize what a great effect the Park had
had upon my life and tastes, and I'm proud to acknowledge that all of my
published novels were profoundly influenced by the shadows on that silvery
screen at the corner of King and McGill.
A theatre ought to be a safe haven from which to learn about life: the
Park was all of that and more.
I am delighted to offer my wholehearted support to the Friends of the
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There is nothing more ghastly sad than a theatre that has been allowed
to fall into ruin; please don't let it happen in Cobourg, as it has in so many
other less enlightened towns and cities.
What a wonderful opportunity we now have to restore a long-lost part of
the community: a space in which generations to come can be brought
together at a refreshed well of creativity.
To my mind, a vibrant centre for the arts is as essential to any healthy
community as the town hall, the school, or the hospital.
As a one-time resident of Cobourg - and still incredibly proud of the fact
— I'd like to conclude by saying that, in spite of the years and the miles, I am
still as much with you, shoulder to shoulder, as I was in 1948.
Let's set an example. Let's show the world what we, of Cobourg old
and new, can do!
Thank you for your patience.
Yours respectfully,
Alan Bradley
March 29, 2016
The Park Theatre
Attention Mayor Brocanier and Cobourg Council
I have always felt that the success of our town depended on many equally important factors: a strong
industrial base, vibrant commercial and retail core, attractive tourism programs and a rich cultural fabric to
mention a few.
I have spent the last 23 years a restaurateur on the main street of Cobourg supporting the arts like the
Northumberland Players, VOS. Oriana Singers and many, high school productions. The Oasis also prided
itself as being the original live music venue on the main street of Cobourg and surrounding area.
The Park Theatre, during our time in town, saw a several reincarnations. It was a movie theater, a bar
nightclub, a live theatre venue and just before it closed, under the management of Antonio Sarmiento, was
becoming more of a cultural centre.
When The Park was open and operating it created a buzz in the downtown, filling our restaurant, the shops
and the main street. There was a real sense of excitement in the downtown and a common belief that this
was what this town needed. I had discussions with The Breakers about dinner, show and stay packages and
it seemed that if it could have survived, it would have been that missing piece of a puzzle we could have
started to help grow our downtown.
When 1 look at the impact the Capitol Theatre has had on Port Hope, from the resurgence on the restaurant
scene to the amazing shows it created a special notoriety to the town, It's easy to understand the real value of
a well run operation. Sometimes that impact is not always obvious in the beginning, as there are financial
hurdles to overcome, but I think today, when we talk about Port Hope, the Capitol Theatre is a big part of
the discussion.
I, personally, have a few magic moments relating to the Park. The night the Hollywood Legend Mickey
Rooney had dinner with us and posed for some photos with our very delighted customers, and various visits
feiiiifThe Amazing Kreskin, Jim Cuddy, Murray McLaughlin, Vaidi and countless other performers. They
came to Cobourg, had a fun night and would be certain to spread the word about our great little town.
It's sad to see that art deco style Ontario building sitting: empty when we all know with some creativity,
energy; financial support and negotiating it could become the beacon needed to light up the main street of an
already terrific town.
Respectfully
31 King Street East Cobourg, ON K9A 1K6 • Tel: (905) 372-6634 • fax: (905) 377-1083
FRIENDS Of I 1USIC
The Mayor and Council, Town of Cobourg
c/o The Clerk, Victoria Hall
55 King Street West, Cobourg K9A 2M2
March 2, 2016
Dear Mr. Mayor and Councillors,
As President of Friends of Music I would like to express our organization's support for the
ongoing campaign to conserve, refurbish and repurpose Cobourg's Park Theatre.
As a presenter of world-class musical events in our community for over 42 years, Friends of
Music has perennially struggled to secure a suitable home. While Port Hope's Capitol Theatre
has much to offer, it is a less than ideal concert venue and is increasingly unavailable with ever
more commercial and theatrical productions.
We are in favour of developing a municipal performing arts centre that can fully realize such a
facility's potential as a builder of social and economic community.
Sincerely,
Eitan Cornfield, President
Friends of Music
P.O. Box 526
Port Hope, ON LlA 3Z4
OPO Box 526, Port Hope, Ontario Ll A 3Z4 O905 797 2295
[email protected]