 "Photo: Chris Vallieres")
The once empty alley between Park Avenue and Market Streets in Meadville is now the home of an 80-foot mural depicting some of Meadville's forgotten theater days.
The mural is painted on the "@ The Bank" building, which is located at 940 Park Avenue. The building was originally the 1,600-seat theater known as The Park from 1922-59. The theater had big orchestra bands, vaudeville performances, Broadway shows and movies.
"It was about two-and-a-half years ago when I met Berry (Breene) when she had just started working on the other mural, so I got mural in my head," said Ed Fine, owner of "@ The Bank." "I started thinking about the theater and how life is so different today.
"Most people, including myself when I bought this building, didn't know that this was a theater," added Fine. "I moved here in '75 and of course it was long gone by then, so I said to myself 'Is there a way to bring back this lost part of history?' We're talking the 1920s to the 1950s."
The mural project was funded by the Emmaline D. Barco Beautification Fund Trust under the will of George J. Barco, with a special thanks to Mayor Richard Friedberg, City Manager Joseph Criest, and Planning and Development Manager Richard Williams. The art from the project was designed by Berry Breene with assistance from Peter J. Maruska.
Prior to World War II, Meadville supported a booming theater community. In 1939 Meadville was selling one million theater tickets, which included the Park Theatre, the Academy Theatre and the Meet on Water Street.
In 1947 there was an accident at the Park Theater where a chandelier fell; they re-opened a few weeks later with "The Kid from Brooklyn."?
After the television boom, it was hard to fill the 1600-seat theater, and in 1959 First National Bank bought the theater back.
First National Bank converted the theater into a regional bank and it was used in such a manner until the mid-1990s, when the building went vacant for 10 years.
"I had an idea for doing an iconic poster from each decade that meant something to Meadville, the theater, or people in general, along with people from each decade in period dress, and as they walked out of the theater the people and their dress would morph into the different decades that the theater was open," added Fine. "It features posters from 'Wings,' 'Casablanca,' 'Rebel Without a Cause' and Ruff Davis."
Recently "@ The Bank" has worked to turn the building into an indoor shopping complex and has worked toward restoring the building to its 1950s charm.
In 2005, "@ The Bank" opened and has been a shopping center and an incubator for several local
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