70-Year-Old Theater Reopens for Business
The Raymond Theatre, closed by the Pasadena fire chief in November for failure to meet fire safety regulations, is back in business.
The 70-year-old theater reopened last Saturday night after workers spent round-the-clock shifts reupholstering 1,000 seats with fire-retardant material and installing fire alarms.
The last-minute work delayed for half an hour the performance by Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir, the same performer whose show was cancelled by Fire Chief Kaya Pekerol three hours before show time on Nov. 30.
A onetime vaudeville house and movie theater, the Raymond is undergoing a massive restoration aimed at making it a premier entertainment venue that is expected to cost $1.5 million. It had been reopened briefly last November after being dark for four years.
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