Well it has been a long time since I have blogged on this site and felt I should pipe in some latest updates.
on October 30, 2010 on All Hallows eve we hosted a "first annual" (hopefully) costume party at The Lodge. Over 30+ attendees all clad in costumes ranging from The Flintstone Family, Gnomes, Convicts, witches, and a chilean miner came to celebrate and enjoy the eerily haunting lodge. The band, As Is, a local r&b band played their hearts out and I must say this auditorium is going to ROCK when we are officially open. The acoustics in this hall are Dy-No-Mite (as JJ would say). Wow, that was a deepcut reference? anybody remember him? But I digress...
As for the renovations, we have just filed our paperwork to create a 501c3 nonprofit entity as this seems the most logical and prudent way to organize this business. Through the 501c3 we can raise the necessary funds from federal, state and local sources to complete the extensive renovations needed. By latest estimate, our restoration budget is approx. $500k. This is a bare bones estimate, not including any salaries or labor costs (for lodge employees). The bulk of the work needed includes: addition of 8 restroom facilities on the first, second and third floors; complete rewiring and electrical power box upgrade/replacement; HVAC installation on all floors; balcony railing system including stair rails; exit and aisle lighting installation; kitchen rehab and upgrade; theatre seat purchases along with banquet table/chairs and other accoutrements; lighting and sound system purchase and installation; and on and on.
There are numerous other "little" items but these are the primary biggies.
I am awaiting my architect to come and survey the property and prepare architectural drawings of "as is" condition and then with the necessary upgrades and additions needed.
I blast out to those in the sound of my voice to spread the word if you know anyone who wants to sponsor any or all of the above restoration project, checks are highly welcome. We have launched a theatre seat purchase program where you can get involved for a very low cost ONLY $250. Purchasers will receive a plaque with their name on it hung on the chair and/or a Donor Wall in the theater. You will also receive preview purchase ability once we have show tickets go on sale and free tickets to the Gala Opening Night event and reception. This is a lifetime membership that you are purchasing as early benefactors. Subsequent offerings of sponsorship will be on an annual basis.
If anyone knows a corporation or individual that wants the "Naming Rights" of one of the theatres this is also an option. Do you want this theatre named after you, a loved one or a favorite company? Please call us to discuss.
Anyway the work continues and I promise to be more diligent with updates to come.
Drew
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
theatre seating YAY!
Okay so I won the bid on 500 theatre seats (good news)!!!!
Bad news (or possible bad news)
1) i have to drive to wilmington and unbolt them from their current location and haul them up. Thank goodness I have a good crew that will go with me.
2) this theatre has been closed up so the word is that they have "a little mold on the vinyl"....Now we will see what the true definiition of a "little mold" is?????? are they in fact usable with a bit of washing or are they totally destroyed......more news to follow on this.
However, seeing as I only paid $0.25 a piece for the seats and I can pick and choose which seats to unbolt I may get 200-300 good ones...???
Tuesday is trip day to Wilmington to pick them up.
Bad news (or possible bad news)
1) i have to drive to wilmington and unbolt them from their current location and haul them up. Thank goodness I have a good crew that will go with me.
2) this theatre has been closed up so the word is that they have "a little mold on the vinyl"....Now we will see what the true definiition of a "little mold" is?????? are they in fact usable with a bit of washing or are they totally destroyed......more news to follow on this.
However, seeing as I only paid $0.25 a piece for the seats and I can pick and choose which seats to unbolt I may get 200-300 good ones...???
Tuesday is trip day to Wilmington to pick them up.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Wow! Where have I been?
Okay so it has been some time since I last posted on this blog and I do apologize. Has been somewhat of a whirlwind. However, we had our "unofficially official" opening at THE LODGE on Friday night. We had a group of friends in town for the memorial day weekend (approx. 25 or so). So, we took advantage of that and had a black tie gala at The Lodge. We began with a special screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show then segued into a local R&B band "As Is" and danced all night. I must say the band was kicking and the sound quality in this room is suberb!! This will definitely be a "listening room". the band toned down the amps to the lowest possible setting and it was dynomite. Will post pics and iphone video for all to see.
Minus AC in the building was a bit on the hot side and only compounded by the extended dancing we were doing....in our tuxedos and evening gowns.
Also, had a great conversation with electricians from north raleigh who came up and are going to see, based on codes, how best to rewire the building. And whether or not they can integrate the existing fuse panels (the old system) but updating it with safety bars and precautions. God wiling this will work and we don't have to completely replace with new boxes..
More exciting news is that I am bidding now on 400+ theatre seats at 25 cents per. they are in a theatre in NC that is being demolished and they have to go. They have high backs and are vinyl on top and cloth material. There may also be other theatre equipment to be had including 35mm projectors and platters, theatre screens and curtains. I will go down there this week..if bid successful to procure my lot. I have to unbolt seating myself and transport but for 25 cents per seat am happy to do it. Will post pictures soon of the seating.
YOGA ROOM A SUCCESS!! We had 3 straight days of yoga classes run by Brenda in the new Yoga room at the Lodge. we had 12 yogis in the class day one and 10 the 2nd and 5 the 3rd. (the diminishing #s were due to folks leaving enfield and heading back north after the weekend not due to weak backs and post drunken revelry!)
Have an architect from Tulane Architecture school coming up in June to draw up plans "as is" and proposed in order to prepare renovation plans.
Also, our 501c3 application has begun to apply for nonprofit status. Any board member potential yall know of....
thanks
stay tuned
Drew
Minus AC in the building was a bit on the hot side and only compounded by the extended dancing we were doing....in our tuxedos and evening gowns.
Also, had a great conversation with electricians from north raleigh who came up and are going to see, based on codes, how best to rewire the building. And whether or not they can integrate the existing fuse panels (the old system) but updating it with safety bars and precautions. God wiling this will work and we don't have to completely replace with new boxes..
More exciting news is that I am bidding now on 400+ theatre seats at 25 cents per. they are in a theatre in NC that is being demolished and they have to go. They have high backs and are vinyl on top and cloth material. There may also be other theatre equipment to be had including 35mm projectors and platters, theatre screens and curtains. I will go down there this week..if bid successful to procure my lot. I have to unbolt seating myself and transport but for 25 cents per seat am happy to do it. Will post pictures soon of the seating.
YOGA ROOM A SUCCESS!! We had 3 straight days of yoga classes run by Brenda in the new Yoga room at the Lodge. we had 12 yogis in the class day one and 10 the 2nd and 5 the 3rd. (the diminishing #s were due to folks leaving enfield and heading back north after the weekend not due to weak backs and post drunken revelry!)
Have an architect from Tulane Architecture school coming up in June to draw up plans "as is" and proposed in order to prepare renovation plans.
Also, our 501c3 application has begun to apply for nonprofit status. Any board member potential yall know of....
thanks
stay tuned
Drew
Monday, March 29, 2010
Plaster! Plaster! Plaster!
Welcome back. It has been some time since I last posted as we have been travelling north to the metropolis of New York. We rest when we are in New York like taking a bike ride up the West St bike/jogging trail in NYC on a glorious saturday morning!
Well, we arrived back in Enfield NC several nights ago and, as naturally, we immediately began to work. Myra stayed by the house to get our 2nd floor bedrooms and bath in shape and ready for painting (alot of cleaning)!
I began to tackle the "Yoga/Dance Studio" room which has one far wall that has crumbling plaster and a ceiling with some crumbling plaster pieces. I used a grinder to cut out a square section of the two ceiling areas that needed replacing. With Harry's (the carpenter) help we hung two new sheets of sheetrock and attached them. I got out my handy dandy trowel and drywall plaster and started to work. When you see the pictures you will understand my craziness. Upon scrapping the "loose" plaster, chunks of the topcoat plaster just fell right off. Pretty much the entire top half of both walls (on either side of the chimney stack). Thus, I had to cake on drywall compound over the entire wall. plus, the ceilings. Harry told me about a product called STRUCTO-LITE (great name eh!) which is a heavy duty base coat plaster for filling in sizable cracks and holes in the wall. But of course, this product is not available anywhere close by and in fact noone around here ever heard of the stuff. I googled US gypsum company that makes it and found a distributor, C&K Supply in Greenville NC. After calling to insure they did have it I took a drive today of about an hour in the pouring rain! Biblical that is!
But alas I got the stuff and brought it back and will start this process tomorrow. Meanwhile I continued my drywall compounding throughout the lodge including the yoga room, banquet hall, hallways and even in the theatre balcony area. I was a man on a mission to plaster the world...okay just the lodge but after a while it felt like I was plastering the world.
But now pretty much all the cracks and gashes in walls are covered and walls should be ready for priming and painting. Still need to do more plastering (probably with Structo Lite on the north wall of the theatre balcony. There was a lot of moisture damage here and I may take the plaster walls down in the balcony and apply a moisture barrier to the brick and then mount sheetrock/plaster back on top.
Did also find some old historic archive info from the old Enfield Progress papers about the dedication and opening of the Masonic Lodge in 1925. Will probably post some of this stuff tomorrow or by the weekend.
Until then, Get Plastered!!!
Drew
March 29, 2010
Well, we arrived back in Enfield NC several nights ago and, as naturally, we immediately began to work. Myra stayed by the house to get our 2nd floor bedrooms and bath in shape and ready for painting (alot of cleaning)!
I began to tackle the "Yoga/Dance Studio" room which has one far wall that has crumbling plaster and a ceiling with some crumbling plaster pieces. I used a grinder to cut out a square section of the two ceiling areas that needed replacing. With Harry's (the carpenter) help we hung two new sheets of sheetrock and attached them. I got out my handy dandy trowel and drywall plaster and started to work. When you see the pictures you will understand my craziness. Upon scrapping the "loose" plaster, chunks of the topcoat plaster just fell right off. Pretty much the entire top half of both walls (on either side of the chimney stack). Thus, I had to cake on drywall compound over the entire wall. plus, the ceilings. Harry told me about a product called STRUCTO-LITE (great name eh!) which is a heavy duty base coat plaster for filling in sizable cracks and holes in the wall. But of course, this product is not available anywhere close by and in fact noone around here ever heard of the stuff. I googled US gypsum company that makes it and found a distributor, C&K Supply in Greenville NC. After calling to insure they did have it I took a drive today of about an hour in the pouring rain! Biblical that is!
But alas I got the stuff and brought it back and will start this process tomorrow. Meanwhile I continued my drywall compounding throughout the lodge including the yoga room, banquet hall, hallways and even in the theatre balcony area. I was a man on a mission to plaster the world...okay just the lodge but after a while it felt like I was plastering the world.
But now pretty much all the cracks and gashes in walls are covered and walls should be ready for priming and painting. Still need to do more plastering (probably with Structo Lite on the north wall of the theatre balcony. There was a lot of moisture damage here and I may take the plaster walls down in the balcony and apply a moisture barrier to the brick and then mount sheetrock/plaster back on top.
Did also find some old historic archive info from the old Enfield Progress papers about the dedication and opening of the Masonic Lodge in 1925. Will probably post some of this stuff tomorrow or by the weekend.
Until then, Get Plastered!!!
Drew
March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
3rd floor Bar & Hallway 90% done
another Myra Wirtz Fine Art masterpiece!
what a team!!
a princess and her chandeliersWell the 3rd floor "entryway" (the hallway and bar area) is now 90% complete. We still have to hang the chandeliers (wait til you see them below), install window treatments, add a bar (oh, and put in new refrigeration and electric for the bar).....but the repainting is complete!
The chandeliers were a GREAT find at the Spring Hope NC furniture auction last night. We had a great day trip to the Wilmington NC area and ate lunch along Front St (on the Cape Fear river) at ELIJAH's. This is a great spot. We had oysters elijah which are rockefeller ish with a hot crab dip on top. YUMMO!!! Then I had a soft shell crab sandwich which was rocking!! We then went to visit and pickup some of Myra's art being stored by Dana & Joy (Dana is our friend Dede's sister). We met their ADORABLE 5 year old boy named Spencer! and through him we found out everything we need to know about sharks! This kid has it down and knows them all! What a great (AND VERY SMART) kid! Looking forward to watching him grow as we are watching our own nieces and nephews grow and mature into amazing teenagers and adults.
Anyway back to the auction. ON the way back we stopped in at 7pm (we got there at 7:30 as it was a 2 hour ride back from Hampstead NC). We marked a couple items including a great bar with granite top (we couldn't get them to sell that for less than $300 and we were too cheap to spend 300 on it...but maybe next time..)
Great auction house although you have to weed through ALOT of "interesting" things including a reproduction of an antlered sconce????? very strange looking and there was an antlered chandelier that was particularly gaudy! (but and here is the funny thing....someone BOUGHT them!!)
So enjoy our pics as we pack up and head north back to NJ/NY to get some real work done. We shall be back sometime in April.
Andrew
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)