SEPTEMBER 28, 1994 --
The hall of Hope Grange No. 20 on Riverside Avenue near Route 4 is leaning over, its support beams torn out.
The old hall is in the process of being demolished. The building was already in bad shape in February 1991 when fire swept through it, leaving the state's oldest continually active grange without a hall.
The building was too badly damaged for the Grange to use it again, said Richard Clinton, the grange master. He began work over the weekend to bring down the building. The building is half down, and the project will require a few more days.
City inspectors have also taken an interest in the building, contending it now poses a hazard.
"Tomorrow we're going to have to fence it in,'' said city Building Official Francis Cardello. "We feel it's a danger. Kids could get in there and it could fall down on them.''
Clinton said efforts to tear down the building will continue.
The hall, built in 1938, has been empty since the fire. Meetings have been next door at the First Congregational Church of Torrington. Grange members have been working to raise money for a new hall. Plans have been drawn, but details must still be worked out, Clinton said.
Each Saturday, the grange sponsors bingo at the Sons of Italy Hall, 34 Center St. Games run from 6 to 10 p.m., and refreshments are available.
"We like to think we're the best bingo in the county,'' Clinton said. "People tell us that.''
This week, the grange bingo will begin offering a $500 prize, Clinton said. And, he said, proceeds go toward a good cause: a new grange hall. |
