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In July 1998, a group of Whitehall residents were looking for ways to
draw tourists and local citizens to downtown/historic Whitehall. The
suggestion was made…”why not use the Clinton Street Bridge over Lock
12…” The NYS DOT was contacted, and a lease for $1 a year was
contracted. With help from the DOT, Troy Savings Bank BOCES, NYS,
several local businesses, and many volunteers, the Bridge Theater
concept was born and opened in 1999 with a seating capacity for 80.
There have been two production companies from the start of the
Theater: Riverview Entertainment Productions of Albany and Potter’s
Players. Riverview Entertainment performs Saturday historic
productions and musical reviews on Saturday nights in the summer.
Whitehall’s own Potter’s Players performs both historic shows and
dramas at the theater.
Recently ARCW was gifted an historic 1860 building on the west
shore of Lake Champlain just north of The Bridge Theater. This
property is being developed for creative arts and related recreational
activities. Know as the “Cooke’s Island Recreational/Arts Center (CIRAC),
workshops for the 2003 summer season include quilting, wood carving,
basketry, wetlands lectures and field trips, and canal and railroad
music appreciation.
With networking assistance, ARCW has been able to reach out artists
from Burlington, Vermont, New York City, and even West Virginia. Dave
Mohn, who has been in the forefront of these efforts states, “What has
developed from the original concept of the Bridge Theater is now
resulting in making Whitehall perhaps an artist colony. It has been an
interesting trip…”
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