Like many aging buildings, California theatre once contained asbestosRiverside, California - In Riverside, California, the Fox Performing Arts Center is getting ready for its grand opening. And yet, just a few years ago, the dilapidated theatre was an asbestos-laden eyesore filled with animal droppings and debris. The Fox dates back to 1929, but by 2005 the theatre was showing its age.
"There were piles of debris. It was dark and dangerous to walk around and you needed a flashlight because you didn't know what you were stepping on," said Peyton Hall, a principal at Historic Resources Group, the company which was hired to help restore the performing arts center. "People in Southern California who like historic theaters and historic buildings had been watching and worrying about this for so long," Hall said. "It's a heroic undertaking."
Before work could begin, carcinogenic asbestos had to be removed from the ceiling. Asbestos exposure is conclusively linked to the development of mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. Mesothelioma affects less than 3,000 Americans each year, and while there are palliative treatment methods available, including chemo, there is no known cure. Asbestos can also cause lung cancer and scarring of the lungs.
Former Riverside Councilman Chuck Beaty, one of the founding members of the nonprofit Friends of the Fox group, was astonished at how much money they had to raise in order to conduct the renovation and cleanup efforts."No one in our (nonprofit) group was ever thinking (it would cost) $30 million," Beaty said.
Hall thinks that the former health hazard has been transformed into an important Riverside landmark. "It's the unique qualities that a place has, that Riverside has, downtown Riverside, that (are) not in some other city in Southern California or some other place."
