The historic designation process will take about a year to complete.
By LAURE CIOFFI
NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Rich Sbarro jokes that it was the lack of funding that has kept the Scottish Rite Cathedral in such pristine historic condition.
Whatever the reason, the building constructed in the 1920s is now coming to the attention of history buffs who want to place it on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sbarro, president of the Cathedral Foundation, the group that maintains and operates the building located on New Castle's North Hill, said they are hoping a historic designation will make the facility more of a destination in the city.
Roger Smith, a consultant helping the foundation in its quest for the designation, said being on the register will help the nonprofit group in seeking grants from foundations.
Located on Lincoln Avenue, the neoclassical building boasts a 2,800-seat auditorium and a 600-seat banquet hall.
William Callahan, an architect with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, talked Monday to the New Castle Rotary Club about the historic designation process and the Scottish Rite Cathedral.
The cathedral is in the North Hill Historic District, but Callahan has recommended it get its own building designation.
"Generally I wouldn't recommend going that extra step and making it an individual nomination. However, it's very rare to come across a facility like this," Callahan said.
Original features
Many of the building's original features remain, from crystal chandeliers to stage equipment.
The building was constructed as a central meeting point for area Masonic groups. John S. Wallace, commander-in-chief of the New Castle Consistory, the Masonic organization that first oversaw the building in the early 1900s, lived next door and gave land for the building.
The cornerstone for the $1.7 million building was laid in 1925, and the building was first used Nov. 8, 1926.
The Masonic Association lost the building to taxes in 1940, and it wasn't until 1944 that the Cathedral Foundation was formed and took over its operation. The foundation's bylaws state that all members must first be members of the Masonic organizations that operate out of the building.
The foundation recently undertook an aggressive plan to remodel and refurbish portions of the building. The estimated costs are more than $3 million.
Smith said Michael Eversmeyer, a registered architect from Pittsburgh, is drafting the nomination for the Cathedral Foundation. He said the process is expected to take about a year.