NORWAY — The $1.1 million renovation of the historic Norway Opera House continued this week as subcontractors worked on everything from framing bathrooms to removing a stairway to the cellar in one storefront.
“It’s just an old building,” Ron Bracy, a subcontractor framing an interior door, answered when asked if the workers had encountered any problems.
Bracy and a dozen or so other subcontractors have been in the 1894 building on Main Street for the past few weeks. Electricians and other tradespeople are working in the five storefronts as well. Bracy said the framers should be done by the end of this month.
H. E. Callahan Construction of Auburn is the general contractor. Work began in mid-September to restore the commercial first-floor spaces to a usable condition by early next year. The renovation also involves reframing the back wall.
The three-story brick building, which has a ballroom and balcony on the upper floors, was once the center of community activities. The upper floors have been vacant since the 1970s, and the storefronts closed since a partial roof collapse in 2007. That collapse led to the town to take ownership of the building because it was deemed a public hazard.
Ownership was turned over to the Norway Opera House Corp., which is trying to raise at least another $200,000 to help meet the initial $1.1 million renovation estimate.
Anyone who would like to make a tax-deductible donation or would like more information may go to the corporation’s website at http://www.saveouroperahouse.org/or call corporation officer Bruce Cook at 207-890-7920.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
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- Subcontractors for the $1.1 million rehabilitation of the Norway Opera House work on framing bathrooms and doorways and other carpentry issues in one of the six, first-floor storefronts.
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