MAYOR, COMMUNITY APPLAUD THEATER PLAN.Byline: Mary Beth Alexander Daily News Staff WriterSome will see the tall, black-and-white sign as a marker for just another city construction project. But those who gathered Thursday at the site of the proposed Madrid Theatre, a $2.75 million, 499-seat community arts center on Sherman Way, saw the billboard announcing the project as a symbol of Canoga Park's rebirth. ``It's going to be one more good influence on the community. It's going to be a reason to come to Canoga Park,'' Beverly Phelps, a Canoga Park/West Hills Chamber of Commerce director, said of the theater. ``We need good things here.'' About 50 people assembled in the rubble-strewn lot at 21622 Sherman Way to celebrate the transformation of the site, formerly home to the Pussycat puss·y·cat n. 1. A cat. 2. Informal One who is regarded as easygoing, mild-mannered, or amiable. Noun 1. Theater. Merchants and political leaders see the project as the catalyst for revival of the community's business district, which was hard hit by the recession and the Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. . ``The new Madrid New Madrid (mă`drĭd), city (2000 pop. 3,334), seat of New Madrid co., extreme SE Missouri, on Mississippi River at the sweeping New Madrid Bend; inc. 1808. Theatre is a symbol of renewal for the whole city,'' said Mayor Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. , who joined Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. City Councilwoman Laura Chick during a brief morning ceremony. Chick said groundbreaking on the theater, which is being funded through a federal Economic Development Administration grant, is scheduled for early next year. Construction, she said, is expected to be finished by late 1997. Members of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. arts community expressed excitement that the Valley's symphonies and other performance groups will have a home. ``We haven't had art facilities for a long time,'' said Jim Domine, director of the West San Fernando Valley Symphony. ``The earthquake . . . allowed us to take a bad situation and make something good out of it.'' Also attending were about 25 fifth-graders from nearby Canoga Park Elementary School elementary school: see school. , whose artwork hung on a tarp covering the new sign. Principal Forrest A. Ross said the theater would broaden the opportunities for the children in the school. ``We have to go to Thousand Oaks for any kind of cultural event,'' Ross said. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Mayor Richard Riordan meets students from Canoga Park Elementary School at the site of the soon-to-be-built Madrid Theatre. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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