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Norwalk Seeks Public Input For Globe Theater Renovation

NORWALK, Conn. – As the Globe Theater prepares for a new renovation project, Norwalk officials are looking for public input on the draft of a federal grant request that the city is backing.

The former Globe Theater, located at 71 Wall St. in Norwalk, is slated to be renovated, and the Redevelopment Agency is looking for public input.

The former Globe Theater, located at 71 Wall St. in Norwalk, is slated to be renovated, and the Redevelopment Agency is looking for public input.

Photo Credit: Thomas Cain

The city’s Redevelopment Agency is spearheading a $2 million grant application for the development of the facility into a “general purpose theater suitable for a number of varied uses, including live entertainment, conferences and gatherings, school and church assemblies, and other community uses.”

Total costs to acquire, rehab and develop the building could approach $8 million, which would be overseen in part by the nonprofit Wall Street Theater Company Inc. The city would not be on the hook for the costs of the project, and officials hope that the renovated theater will act as a catalyst for further development and renovation in the Wall Street area. Parts of that downtown area have suffered from urban blight for years.

A copy of the draft proposal can be viewed by clicking here. The Redevelopment Agency will be accepting public comments until noon June 14, and it will hold a public hearing on the project May 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Norwalk Public Library, 1 Belden Ave. Officials held a walk-through of the building Monday.

The 98-year-old theater, located at 71 Wall St., has been a cultural touchstone for Norwalk through many eras and incarnations.

It has served as a theater for vaudeville and burlesque shows, and was a long-running movie house throughout the 1970s into the 1980s.

In the mid-1990s, when the theater acquired its current name, Rowayton residents TG Diamandis and Brendan McGee led a group that transformed the long-vacant theater into a popular music venue, where national acts such as David Byrne, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Live, the Brian Setzer Orchestra and Helmet performed before sold-out audiences. The club closed before the turn of the millennium and has largely remained shuttered ever since.

Under the new plan, the theater company expects to create after-school programs for students in playwriting and theater production and serve as a performance space for new artists, among several other uses.

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