Only two months before Windber’s Arcadia Theater opened its doors, Warren G. Harding was inaugurated as the 29th president of the United States.

Built in 1921 by Berwind-White Coal Co. for its mining employees and their families, the theater soon became a hub of entertainment that included vaudeville shows, live stage productions, silent films, and was among the first theaters in the region to show talking pictures.

Berwind-White built the theater as a place where management and its coal miners could come together. All job titles were set aside when the employees were under the Arcadia roof.

After years of providing wholesome entertainment, the theater was sold in 1963, and renamed Cinema 56.

The theater opened with “West Side Story,” but not long after the owner started showing movies with titles such as “I Am Curious Yellow.”

The X-rated films inspired local officials to encourage a $25-a-day license fee on the business and had the police raid the theater, arresting the manager on charges he was corrupting minors in 1970. Cinema 56 finally closed in 1975 after the Department of Labor and Industry cited it for failure to correct safety violations.

Unfortunately, the years of being empty took its toll.

Flood damage

In 1977, the former theater company Penn Wood Players planned to make the Arcadia its headquarters, but the 1977 Johnstown Flood severely damaged the building.

With dedication and perseverance, a group of community leaders and volunteers would not let the curtain fall on the theater that was once the grand lady of Windber’s business district.

But the community had its work cut out.

In 1989, the Eureka Coal Heritage Foundation purchased the theater in order to restore the once grand Arcadia Theater to its former splendor.

Theater restoration

Ron Corl, a founding member of the foundation, said the biggest difficulty in restoring the theater to its orignal elegance was obtaining funding.

“By working in concert with government officials, we were able to achieve things that other communities would envy,” Corl said.

Corl said the foundation spearheaded the restoration, purchased the abandoned building and replaced the roof to halt further damage to the interior.

“A roof installed in 1990 saved the building from total destruction,” Corl said.

Officials agreed that the first order of business was to replace the deteriorated roof with new decking, insulation and a rubber membrane.

But it took another five years of behind-the-scenes work to get the project moving.

The curtain nearly didn’t go up on the restoration project.

MORE IN THIS SERIES:

• 'Arcadia is viable financially'
• Board of directors governs theater

Renovations stop

Sandy Pritt of Mine 40, an original foundation member, said after the roof was installed, renovations took a hiatus because officials were trying to cut through government red tape.

“We were fortunate that the theater had good bones and could be saved,” Pritt said.

“Our major concern was getting the ceiling down and getting the asbestos out, which we did.”

A $400,000 funding shortfall in 1997 brought the reconstruction to a halt.

With $2.7 million already spent on the project, a search for additional funding was launched in the form of an application for a grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to finish the theater.

Corl and Pritt credit the late Congressman John P. Murtha for flexing his political muscles to help obtain funding and the restoration was under way.

Windber Borough secured state grants to complete the historical restoration. Not only did the theater receive the $400,000 it needed to finish the project through Murtha’s office, the Arcadia was awarded an additional $235,000 from the state with the help of Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont.

The money helped pay for finishing touches, including adding seats, stage rigging installation, carpeting, tile work and painting.

Arcadia’s rebirth

Corl gives credit for the rebirth of Arcadia to Windber’s residents.

“It surprised this old coal miner what can be achieved when people with one goal work together for one cause,” Corl said.

“Windber has two gems that bring pride to the community in the form of the Arcadia Theater and the renowned Windber Medical Center.”

The building’s architects used old pictures and the memories of many people for the interior and exterior designs. The intent of the restoration was to make the theater look as it did in 1921.

“Once the Arcadia was complete, it not only met my expectations, it also surpassed them,” Corl said.

While the original theater boasted 1,000 seats, the auditorium had to be redesigned to accommodate handicap access.

“The seating capacity was changed to 700 to meet the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act,” Pritt said.

Jim Bubenko of Adams Township, a Heritage board member, views himself as a preservationist and is pleased the historic Arcadia was saved from the wrecking ball.

Beacon of hope

Bubenko said time has obliterated many of the historic structures of Windber, but the Arcadia stands as a beacon of hope when people work together.

“Saving the Arcadia was a true community effort,” Bubenko said. “People did a lot of fundraising, and it was a remarkable effort on everyone’s part.”

Located on Graham Avenue in the heart of the business district, town leaders envision the Arcadia as a main character in the downtown revival.

“The Arcadia is good for the local economy by bringing people to our community,” Bubenko said. “It’s great to show them that we were able to preserve a piece of history, because many other historic structures are gone.”

Corl said the theater’s future looks bright.

“We have a new board chairman in Bill Bahorik, who I like to call ‘Mr. Windber,’ ” Corl said.

“He has a great interest in doing things to ensure that the theater continues to do well and flourish.”

The Arcadia reopened its magnificent doors in 1998 with the production of the “Best of Broadway.”

With the exception of present-day computer technology to control both sound and light systems, Arcadia Theater has successfully recaptured its original beauty and “magic” with its appearance and live performances.

The foundation, owner of Arcadia, has retained the venerable theater’s historic ambience while using computer-age technology to create a performance venue that would be the envy of any city or university.

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