Yesterday the Levoy Theater Collapsed here in Millville. This happened around 3pm. There were reports that a gas leak was happening and this prompted all the construction workers to leave the work area. I heard about it while at work when Carolyne sent me an email and called to see if I had seen the photo she had taken.
9:00pm Jan 3ed
High Street looking South. Jan 3rd 2011
Word on the street is that the woman who owns the Tea Room saw cracks forming and warned folks to leave. The person I happened to speak to states lives were saved by her quick action. As of 9pm when I showed up, there were city officials pacing the area. Phillip Van Ebden was optimistic that the project would carry on. He said a bunch of engineers would be at the site today. As reported in the Daily Journal, Lauren Van Embden was hopeful as well.
"We will go back and reevaluate that. My gut feeling is we will have a theater," he said. "We have come too far to not have that space downtown." Levoy board and construction officials gathered in their business office a block form the theater and planned their next move Monday night. Though shocked by what happened, there was a feeling of optimism this did not spell the end for the project. Lauren Van Embden, the Levoy Theatre Preservation Society's board chairwoman said the project was "ridiculously insured" due to the amount of public financing involved. She also noted it was better such a problem happened in the early part of the process. "It could be a blessing in disguise," she said. "All we lose now is time."
Right now I am in shock and so are all the folks who I spoke to. There are questions that will be asked and of course the naysayers will be dancing but that is for another day. Here is a video from my YouTube Site. God Bless the Levoy!
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