Following a recent tour of the Penn Theater, Butler City Mayor Bob Dandoy sees progress towards preserving and repairing the facility.
“There is work going on so that’s why it’s dirty and stuff is in there but the work is significant and they’ve taken care of a lot of the major code things,” said Dandoy.
Bryan Frenchak, a Butler native who became a real estate developer in Houston, Texas, purchased the Penn Theater late last year.
Frenchak and his crews have been working on the facility regularly over the winter and spring including selling 100 theater seats to the public in April. In addition to extensive repairs to the roof, Dandoy informed council about work going on elsewhere.
“They’ve actually poured the slaps rather than being slanted base,” said Dandoy. “It’s going to be tiered and they got the big build section poured now and there were actually in there doing what’s called a skin code plaster on the walls.”
Work is also taking place to restore lighting to the marquee. Frenchak envisions the theater serving as a multi-purpose venue in downtown.
