Hazleton arts site receives support
First Posted:
Times Leader Staff
HAZLETON — As part of its ongoing commitment to Greater Hazleton, the CAN DO Community Foundation has pledged $50,000 to the effort to restore the auditorium of the “Castle on the Hill” – the former Hazleton High School.
The presentation was made Tuesday night to Joe Maddon, manager of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays and an honorary chairman of the renovation project.
Maddon is a native of Hazleton and graduated from Hazleton High School in 1972. Tuesday was “Joe Maddon Day” in Hazleton, and the day was capped off with a fundraiser for the massive community project.
“The former Hazleton High School was an important part of Joe Maddon’s life and the lives of so many other residents of the area and those who have moved on,” said E. Thomas Sandrock, chairman of the CAN DO Board of Directors. “Not only saving the auditorium but restoring it to its original condition – or as close to that as possible under today’s regulations – will boost the local arts.
“We are very happy the foundation chose to make this donation to a very worthwhile community project.”
The pledge was made to The Castle Fund, which is dedicated to and striving for the preservation of the arts so present and future generations may enjoy educational opportunities and community cultural events while celebrating the unique heritage of the Castle auditorium.
The goal of those behind the fund is to create the Castle Auditorium Community Arts Center, a restored and updated version of the school’s original auditorium that will become a community showpiece and home to local and nationally known performances.
The mission of the CAN DO Community Foundation is to select projects that will benefit from “Conservation, Preservation and Reclamation” (CPR), including distressed landscapes and historic and locally significant buildings. The foundation says it strives to nurture community organizations and programs that will effectively serve the economic, educational and general welfare of the community and promote the creation of opportunities that will better meet the needs of the underserved.
