ASHLAND —
If the upstairs floor of the building at the corner of 13th Street and Carter Avenue could talk, it would probably say something about how good it felt to have young feet dancing on it once again.
The building once housed the June Conn School of Dance on its second floor. Now, the extensively remodeled structure is home to the Ashland Youth Ballet.
The ballet company, which moved into the building in January, had an open house and ribbon cutting at its new home on Saturday.
For AYB Director Maria Whaley, the ceremony was the culmination of months of hard work and diligent efforts to raise money to refurbish the building, which formerly housed The Gallaher Group.
It also brought her full circle, in a way. As a youngster, Whaley took dance classes at June Conn when the school was still housed in the building.
The structure, which also at one time was home to Giovanni’s Pizza, became available after Gallaher’s, which had been at that location for about 25 years, moved to the former General Telephone building on Armco Boulevard. After the move, Whaley said she contacted Gallaher Group President John Gallaher to inquire about the building’s availability.
Gallaher, who is Whaley’s first cousin, agreed to lease the structure to the ballet company and essentially gave her carte blanche to do whatever needed to be done to convert it into a dance studio.
The AYB was previously located at 3502 Winchester Ave. Whaley said that building served the repertory well for a number of years, but, she felt a new home, one that would provide greater visibility, was needed.
She also said she thought the former Gallaher’s building’s location — just around the corner from the Paramount Arts Center — was ideal for the ballet company.
The building’s interior required extensive work. Drop ceilings were torn out, exposing the original embossed tin ceilings. And several walls that were demolished so Gallaher’s printing equipment could be removed had to be rebuilt.
Gallaher, who attended Saturday’s open house, said he was highly impressed with the remodeling job.
“It looks great ... totally different,” he said.
The remodeling was originally estimated to cost $180,000. The AYB was able to raise $60,000 through a major fund-raising drive, and Town Square Bank provided an $80,000 capital-improvement loan, Whaley said. The $40,000 shortfall was made up through volunteer labor and in-kind donations, she said.
“It was amazing. If we’d say ‘We need something,’ it would appear,” she said.
Whaley said her husband, Larry, was instrumental in keeping the project going and spent many an “all-nighter” at the building.
She said being in the new building had “energized” both the students and their families, and seemed to have created greater interest in the AYB.
KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Ashland Youth Ballet celebrates opening its new location with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday. TOM WORDEN
Discussion
Ashland Youth Ballet hosts ribbon cutting
- Local News
-
-
Autism program is reason for graduate’s progress
The old clipping from 2001 is somewhere ... tucked into a drawer, in a stack on top of the cabinet or boxed up in the back of the closet.
-
Helping in the neighborhood
The modest ranch house in the middle of the 2100 block of Sellars Street looked a lot different at 11 a.m. Saturday than it did three hours earlier.
-
Beautification project cleans up Ashland
Many of the volunteers who spent their Saturday morning picking up trash downtown don’t even live in Ashland.
-
News in brief, 05/19/13
Molly McBride, 21, of Morehead and a sophomore at Morehead State University, was killed early Saturday in a two-vehicle crash on the Bluegrass Parkway near Bardstown in Nelson County.
-
Do you win the Powerball jackpot?
The winning numbers for the largest multistate Powerball jackpot are: 22, 10,13,14, 52 and the Powerball number is 11.
-
Morehead State student killed in crash
Molly McBride, 21, of Morehead and a sophomore at Morehead State University, was killed early Saturday in a two-vehicle crash on the Bluegrass Parkway near Bardstown in Nelson County, The Morehead News reported..
-
Wurtland parents angry over principal's demotion
A number of parents are hopping mad that Wurtland Elementary School principal Barbara Cook has been demoted and plan to confront the school board about it Monday.
-
Meth busts in Westwood, Ashland
One man was taken into custody Friday in Ashland by deputies with the Boyd County Sheriff’s Department Drug Task Force, and felony charges are pending against another.
-
Womack eliminated in semifinals
Top-seeded Kennedy Womack was eliminated in the semifinals of the State Tournament on Saturday at the University of Kentucky tennis courts.
-
Guitar builder Paul Reed Smith to visit Ashland
Paul Reed Smith isn’t a rock star, although he does have legions of fans who revere his contributions to live and recorded performances worldwide and his name or initials grace the headstocks of guitars used by some of the most recognized names in rock, jazz and country music.
The legendary luthier from Maryland will visit Ashland’s 4 O’Clock Rock Guitar Shop on Wednesday to inspect their collection of his instruments. Store owner Dave McCoy said he was almost immediately overwhelmed with responses after announcing Smith will be at the shop at 2328 Greenup Ave., to meet fans and sign autographs starting at 6 p.m. A crowd is expected to be there, McCoy confirmed Friday afternoon, reporting he expects PRS owners, collectors and fans alike to be in the crowd awaiting Smith’s appearance. - More Local News Headlines
-
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
