Theater of Pain
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When the meeting was over, McCann and a few other residents lingered to talk about what they could do to save the 75-year-old building. Besides McCann, an arts administrator, the group included nonprofit developer Dan Alexander, teacher Kevin Richards, and accountant Tom Rosenfeld. Faster than you can say urban blight, they morphed into a board of directors for the nonprofit group now known as the Wisdom Bridge Arts Project. A mere two months after the original meeting, they presented the alderman with a plan for a performance and instruction space that might be a linchpin for change in the dicey community, which was already undergoing redevelopment. Moore said he liked their idea, the demolition plan was halted, and the grassroots group came up with a source for financing that would allow it to purchase the building. Two years later, they’re still trying to pry the vacant, deteriorating neighborhood landmark from Urban Investment’s grasp. Says Rosenfeld: “We’re stalled.”
In the 1930s and ’40s, when Howard Street was a lively entertainment district, the first floor of the Wisdom Bridge building housed retail shops and the second floor was home to the Limehouse, a popular restaurant and music club. The Limehouse folded in the ’50s, and in the ’70s Wisdom Bridge turned the club into a theater where the company did some legendary productions (In the Belly of the Beast with William Petersen, Hamlet with Aidan Quinn). Wisdom Bridge left the building in ’94, and the theater space has been empty ever since. WBAP members entered the now totally vacant structure a couple of weeks ago to videotape its state of neglect. Cathy Gerlach, a recent law graduate who joined the group this year, says besides broken windows, piles of beer cans, and pieces of sky peeking through holes in the roof, they found damage that probably occurred when a water main broke this summer. “The first floor is now thick with mold. The stage is rotting: if you step on it, it’s spongy. We’re afraid that if something isn’t done soon, it’ll have to be torn down. We’re wondering if this isn’t de facto demolition.”
Julie Farstad: Superexciting Proletariat Girl.
Schleifer: The language is conversational, not academic. A nondigital virtual cafe society.
Farstad: It’ll be in galleries September 13.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Nathan Mandell.
