Renovated Bing Theater in Springfield prepares for debut as community arts center

HOW TO HELPAnyone with photographs, news articles, movie posters, artifacts or anecdotes of either the Cossaboom Service Station or the Bing Theater and would agree to be interviewed on camera can contact: Bob Ryan, Apremont Productions, by e-mail at bob@apremontproductions.com, or phone, (413) 306-1891. Brian Hale, Bing Arts Center, by e-mail at info@Bingartscenter.org, or phone, (413) 543-5252. For more information about the Bing Arts Center renovation project, visit www.bingartscenter.org By KAREN LAVARIERE-SANCHEZSPRINGFIELD - A tattered, forlorn screen still mars the main theater of the former Bing Theater, but in the surrounding lobby, entry ways and restrooms, new drywall, ceilings and gleaming white porcelain are setting the stage for the renewed Bing Arts Center.

As the Springfield neighborhood surrounding the more than 75-year-old building awaits completion of the extensive renovation project, a local video production company has taken on the task of documenting the history of the old theater through the fond memories of those who frequented it way back when.

To the uninitiated, there may not seem to be much of a change to the current building either inside or out. But Brian F. Hale, project manager for the developer, X Main Street Corp., animatedly explained the great strides that have been completed in the first phase of the project, from jack-hammering troughs into the cement foundation to laying pipes for new bathroom fixtures and leveling the side yard and installing a security fence to installing a new heating and air conditioning unit and rewiring the electrical service.

With the vision that only the project manager can truly see, he pointed out where the LCD screen will premier documentaries made by local filmmakers, the concession stand where tables and equipment from the former Blue Moon coffee shop will be set up and the new marquee to grace the front of the building by the end of next month.

With or without the facelift, the Bing Theater, as it once was, will forever live in the memories of residents of Springfield and the surrounding area. Bob Ryan, executive producer of Apremont Productions in Springfield, has volunteered to document its storied past.

Part of Hale's drive to revive the Bing comes from his own fond memories - getting dropped off with his friends, eating large amounts of cheap candy, watching a movie and getting home in time for dinner. He described one of the contractors' memories of a first date and says even Mayor Dominic Sarno recounted memories of his time there.

"I gave him a tour of the construction site just a few weeks ago," Hale said, "and he talked about memories of coming to the Bing as a young boy with his friends and watching horror movies all day."

But much of the history of the Bing remains unclear or unknown. Hale outlined what is known: The building was a service station in the 1930s. In the 1950s it was renovated into a theater and named for Bing Crosby, one of the first multimedia stars, who from 1934 to 1954 held a nearly unrivaled command of record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses.

The first movie featured was Cecil B. Demille's "Samson and Delilah;" the last in 1999 before closing was Gus Van Sant's remake of "Psycho." Ryan and his videographer, Ken Roberts, are looking for old photos of the theater, news articles, movie posters, artifacts and people with anecdotes to recount who would agree to be interviewed on camera.

In its new form, the Bing Arts Center will not only feature first-run movies, but will serve as a community resource for both the visual and performing arts, with gallery space, a small screening area, several theaters for film and live performances, meeting space and educational programs for both children and adults. Ryan and Roberts share Hale's excitement about the possibilities that the new art center represents. For Hale, the renovation project, projected to cost as much as $1.5 million, represents an opportunity to "provide accessibility to and support for local artists in the visual and performing arts and to foster education to draw people to the (Greater Springfield) area" and "help in the resurgence of the arts in the Springfield schools."

Roberts talks of the center providing "the impetus [for local filmmakers] to drive harder to see digital productions to their fruition" because they know they can get their films premiered or entered into film festivals at the new center, which can lead to inclusion in other festivals.

"The reopening of the Bing Arts Center can do more for this community then even the new (federal) courthouse," Hale said.