Pocono News Section

Historic Theater Opens Doors Once Again

Historic Theater Opens Doors Once Again - Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 5:34PM EST

Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Thursday, Oct 2, 2008 @ 05:34pm EST
Lewisburg, Union County-

Just a few months after fire and flooding nearly shut down a historic theater in Lewisburg, the doors are open once again.

The Campus Theatre in Lewisburg is back in business, and that has folks here smiling.

Gary Miller, of Lewisburg, said, “Oh I love it. It’s the old theater. You go in, you get that feeling of the old days. I grew up with this kind of stuff.”

Angelina Brown said, “Oh I think it’s a great theater. It’s a classic. It’s a great asset to the town.”

Employees at Lewisburg Bridal, which sits right next to the Campus Theatre, say the local landmark brings plenty of foot traffic their way. They admit there were some tense moments when disaster struck back at the end of June.

Brown recalled, “That was very scary for us being right up against. Thankfully it didn’t destroy enough to shut it down for good.”

We’re told a pipe burst caused an electrical fire. The main theater was untouched, but the basement was left in quite a mess. Theater officials credit firefighters and their staff for keeping the damage to a minimum.

Executive Director Mary Bannon noted, “We had to replace all the electrical. We got new air conditioning, a new heating unit, and then clean up all the water that got in the basement.”

On October 17th, the theater will hold a special event to honor all local firefighters. The event coincides with the opening night of the Campus Theatre’s documentary festival.

And now that all the repairs are finished, theater-goers here are ready to kick back and enjoy the shows.

Bannon added, “The whole community has been asking and inquiring all summer so we’re excited to be back up and running.”

Miller said, “I’m excited to see it come back. It’s a landmark. You go in there and reminisce about the old days. I really enjoy it.”

The Campus Theatre opened in 1941. It was renovated in 2001 and began operating as a non-profit institution.