There is an energetic grassroots effort to save Troy’s Proctor’s Theatre from the wrecking ball that is being proposed by the City of Troy and RPI. The building is a community treasure—both inside and out—that celebrates the best of downtown Troy, and we believe that by saving Proctor’s Theatre, and not just the facade, it will serve as an important catalyst in the continuing economic revitalization of the entire Troy community.

The goals of this effort are threefold:

•Restore the interior theater space to its full former glory. Proctor’s can then be used to accommodate large world-class conventions, bringing the world’s greatest scientists to Troy. Troy does not presently have a large convention center, but should. RPI President Shirley Ann Jackson is the former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Conferences addressing the future of nuclear power, including economics, waste disposal, proliferation, and innovation of nuclear technology, could be held at Proctor’s, continuing and expanding upon RPI’s world-wide recognition as a leader in science and engineering research and education. A restored Proctor’s could also be used at other times to present old-fashioned vaudeville shows and, yes, even first-run movies.    

•The Proctor’s Theatre space could be restored and adaptively reused to provide for expanded incubator program spaces. A suggestion that comes to mind would be to expand and relocate RPI’s Lighting Research Center to the theater.  What better place to study lighting than in a theater setting?  The Gurley Building, where the lighting center is located, can then be converted into downtown dorms for visiting students from Stellenbosch University, one of the premier research universities in South Africa, with whom RPI has recently teamed up to expand science and engineering capacity and to encourage young people in America and Africa to focus their energies on addressing the great global challenges of our time.

•At a bare minimum, the Proctor’s Theatre space should be fully stabilized and cleaned up for future restorations back to its glory days. Those walking by Proctor’s only have to look in the building to see a failing but salvageable space. It is, however, no worse than the Rice Building, the Stanley Building, the former Standard Furniture Warehouse Building, the former Cluett Peabody Buildings, or the Frear Building: all nightmare buildings but all now Troy Treasures. Troy saved those buildings from the wrecking ball. Let’s make Proctor’s Theatre Troy’s next success story.

Jackson and Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian have suggested that the grand old theater spaces of Proctor’s be demolished and replaced by a stale box of unneeded office space. This should not be an option. As outlined above, opportunities abound to save Proctor’s. We urge Jackson, Tutunjian, and the Troy City Council to work in collaboration with Columbia Development to save Proctor’s, and we ask you to join the over 1,500 people who have signed a petition opposing its destruction. More information on this effort and how to sign this petition can be found on the web at http://www.TroyProctors.com/ and I urge the RPI student body to join this effort.

Richard Herrick