Old city hall deemed a driving hazard

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent
With Leonard Cash
 
 
Local historian Leonard Cash begins this week’s installment of the “History on Main” series by discussing the movie presentation in the City Hall building in October 1921.
According to an article from the News Journal on Oct. 6, 1921, a “new picture show” was expected to be “in the operation” soon. 
F.H. Barnes was the owner of the former theater, according to Cash, until it burned down, along with nearly every other downtown building. However, Barnes had an opportunity for the first time in a long time to once again present the town with a movie — this time at city hall. With the permission of the “city fathers,” he was planning on showing “The Purple Riders” as soon as the projector arrived. 
A few weeks later, the Oct. 20, 1921, issue of the News Journal reported that on Thursday night, a good-sized crowd came to watch the presentation of “The Riders of Purple Sage” at city hall because “the photo play house was reopened.” On Friday evening, the locals were treated to the “Purple Riders” and “Pleasure Seekers.” As an additional source of entertainment, guests listened to the music of the Barnes’ orchestra. 
“The screen is good and the plays are of very high order — as good as in the metropolis and far above any to be seen in other small towns,” the article says. “Evidently the theater-attending public is glad to once more have their tastes gratified, and we are all pleased to have the movie man back on his job.”
About a decade later, Feb. 5, 1931, news articles say that the Lion’s Club approved a committee to meet and cooperate with city council about the topic of “razing” city hall because the building was condemned and deemed unsafe.  
The city was pondering the thought of possibly getting a smaller building on a “less valuable lot,” using the proceeds from the old building. The former building produced a hazard because it blocked the vision of incoming highway traffic. This committee was expected to soon give a report to the council about what they thought was best to do with the building. 
Someone was interested in buying the building for business purposes, but the offer was “tentative.” If the city and the buyer could agree on a price, the decision to sell would be considered beneficial in “more than one way,” according to the article.
The city council met on a Wednesday afternoon when they came upon the decision to take action toward the sale of the building, according to news reports from April 16, 1931. They thought it was in the “best interests” to sell the building because they were only using a small portion of the building and decided a smaller, less valuable city hall would suffice.
“Who wants city hall? Newcastle will sell its city hall to the highest bidder,” the article says. “The city council has so decreed, and sealed bids for the building and site will be received up to noon May 4, 1931.” 
The bids were to be opened at 7 p.m. on that same night at the regular council meeting. The purchaser of the building was required to “remove or leave vacant” a portion that it was 10 feet away from both sides of the corner so it wouldn’t obscure the view of oncoming traffic. 
Plans were being made “for quarters to replace those in the old city hall,” but nothing was being set in stone until the city found a buyer.
“This does not mean that Newcastle is passing away as a municipality but simply that Newcastle owns an antiquated, dilapidated and condemned city hall occupying a valuable site which authorities have decided it will be good business to dispose of,” the article reported.
Although the plan seemed like a surefire way to get rid of the building, no bids were received for the building, so “the council decided to let the matter of selling rest for the present,” according to a news article from May 7, 1931.
Later, in Cash’s records from June 11, 1931, it’s reported that the local Masonic lodge was interested in renting the second floor of city hall. A committee from the lodge, composed of A.J. Kirkwood and Park Carmine, appeared before the council to discuss the matter, and it was voted that this committee would meet with the council again on June 12.
“It is understood that the proposal of the Masons is receiving favorable consideration,” the article reported. 
According to articles from June 18, 1931, more discussions and negotiations were made regarding the rental proposal from the lodge. While it hadn’t been officially decided upon as of yet, the article said that it was “almost a certainty that the lease will be made.” 
Representing a citizens committee, Charles Dow told the council that it’d be in the “best interests of the town” to lease the second floor to the Masons, especially because they weren’t planning on selling it at the moment. 
The lodge’s committee — still composed of Kirkwood and Carmine, as well as John Sedgwick — gave a “tentative offer to lease the second floor for a period of five years at a monthly rental of $15.” 
They were to be responsible for repairing and maintaining the roof during this term, as well as making the “necessary changes and decorations” to the interior. If the city sold the building during this period, the lodge was to have the first choice in purchasing it or have the option of vacating the building within 90 days “after receiving written notice of the intended sale.”
The proposal was to be ratified or rejected at the next meeting of the lodge, and if the lease was approved, it was to be “entered into the next meeting of the city council.” According to Cash, the rental deal went through, and he believes that the lodge leased it until 1949, when the building was torn down. 
 
The News Letter Journal/Leonard Cash history series continues in next week’s issue with more on city hall.