- September 6, 2024
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The demolition of the Flagler Playhouse's stage. Photo courtesy of the Flagler Playhouse
The demolition of the Flagler Playhouse. Photo courtesy of the Flagler Playhouse
Almost a year after a fire tore through the Flagler Playhouse's main building, destroying the theater, the burned remains of the historic church building have been torn down.
"I'm kind of I'm excited. It's not sad anymore," Flagler Playhouse President Jerri Berry said. "It's like excited for for new beginnings."
It took longer than they had anticipated to get to this point, Berry said. On July 15, the Playhouse received the permits to begin demolition on the main building and the demolition team was on the site the next day.
By July 23, the main building was gone, including the steeple.
"We knew they weren't going to be able to [save it] though," she said. "It was structurally not sound."
The concrete slab on the lot will be dug up and seeded over until the Playhouse is ready to rebuild, she said. The doorways in the remaining buildings that attached to the main building will need to be boarded up, but, Berry said, the Playhouse team is ready to move forward, engage an architect and begin designing the new building.
Berry said they have purposely not rushed into the design phase. They want to take their time and plan, she said.
"We'll be able to design what will be a very, I think, exciting new venue," she said. "So I'm really, really looking forward to that."
Berry said she hopes the theater will be completely rebuilt over the course of the next year or two. They hope to incorporate the image of the iconic steeple in some way, though Berry said she's not sure yet what the best way to do so will be.
"Who knows what that looks like," she said.
In the mean time, she said, Flagler Playhouse is working to turn the annex building into a 50-seat black box theater that will serve as a new home theater for its performances during the rebuilding. Neighboring community playhouses have even donated or offered old theater seats to fill the space once the stage interior is renovated, Berry said.
The small venue will be reminiscent to how the Playhouse originally got its start, she said.
"It kind of takes us back to the roots, too," Berry said.
And likely the 50-seat theater will remain even after the new theater is built. Berry said she can see the annex building become a revenue source afterward, renting out for comedy nights or other local events, while also having the larger theater for performances.
"I think in the long run, that's going to be very valuable to the community, because we'll have more space that we can do more things with the community, other than just our productions," she said.
