At the Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall this weekend, the curtain will rise on a one-of-a-kind sale
HOMESTEAD, Pa. (KDKA) -- The Carnegie of Homestead has stood as an enormous community center for over 125 years, with a full gymnasium, library and a thousand-seat music hall.
While some changes and improvements have been made over the last century, the facility is currently undergoing a massive, multimillion dollar renovation campaign that includes adding new seats to their classic performance venue.
That means out with the old and in with the new.
Carol Shrieve, the executive director of the Carnegie of Homestead, says that all the old seats from the first floor of the auditorium are up for sale.
"This Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., you can come by the library, pull up to the parking lot and seats will be two for $50 or four for $100," said Shrieve.
The seats run a bit narrow, and while some are a little weathered, most seem to still have a lot of life left in them. Some even still have the wire hat holders that were built into them to hold the derbies typically worn by men when the hall first opened.
Chuck Zapf is a longtime volunteer at the Music Hall who was given special permission on Thursday to purchase a few seats ahead of this weekend's sale.
He says this hall has been an institution to both himself and his family over the years and he says that having a few of these seats at his house will be special.
"The library is a good place to give a donation to," said Zapf. "So, if we give a couple of hundred bucks, we get eight chairs and we don't use them, then we don't use them. But I am thinking about building an outdoor table for them, for the patio, to sit around with friends and drink wine. I think that would be cool."
It is important to note that all proceeds from the sale will go directly back into the renovation project, which is still in the process of raising money. The seats will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, and the sale is cash only. And if you are not able to make it to the sale this weekend, next summer, the Music Hall will be doing the same sale with all the remaining seats in the auditorium balcony.
The Music Hall is hopeful that their new seats on the ground level of the auditorium will be installed and ready for guests by early August. More information about the sale can be found online.