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By TERESA ANICOLA
Courier-Post Staff
On the corner of Collings and Haddon avenues is a building that shines in the evening like a welcoming beacon on a mostly darkened street. It's The Living Room, a coffee house where locals and people from out of town gather to hear live music and have a good time.
One recent Wednesday night, more than two dozen people sat around the room's wooden tables and chairs and lounged on its leather sofa and loveseat during open mic night. Ten spots were offered to musicians on a first-come, first- served basis. It's a welcome opportunity for novices to gain experience performing in front of a crowd and for seasoned musicians to try out new material.
"It's been successful and brought a lot of people into town," said co-owner Ricky Gregerson. "We had a vision of The Living Room coffee house as a light in the community, a meeting place where anybody can come."
One group that played, The Big Red Knob, consists of four local men who play at parties and benefits.
"We try and get up here as much as we can," said musician Eric Eichman, who also is a borough firefighter. " This is a great spot. The place gets packed."
Ray McGeehan, a singer and songwriter from West Deptford, is also a regular on Wednesday nights, performing solo with his guitar. Over the years, he has sung with various bands but struck out on his own about a year ago. He has been writing music for about two years, and follows a loose-knit circuit of local coffee houses that offer live music.
"This is definitely a starting point for people who are feeling their way around a live audience," said McGeehan. " The owners seem to cater to musicians. There are nice acoustics here because of the hardwood floors. It makes the sound resonate."
Despite its success, The Living Room is currently for sale. Ricky Gregerson's husband and co-owner, Larry, is being relocated to Seattle for his job. The family plans to move in May.
Both the family and town are looking for new owners with the same vision in mind.
"It's our hope it will remain the same," said Gregerson.
Another unique musical venue in Collingswood the town wants to begin leasing for use as a performing arts center is the Excelsior Scottish Rite Temple on the White Horse Pike. Built in the 1930s, it sits on eight landscaped acres. Its auditorium seats about 1,000 people and beneath the auditorium is a banquet hall with seating for 800, a balcony ballroom and a full kitchen.
John Hiatt, a 26-year veteran singer and songwriter, was the most recent performer at the temple, playing to a full house earlier this month. Hiatt is well-known for his musical talents and songwriting abilities and has written for blues legends such as B.B. King and Eric Clapton. He wrote "Thing Called Love," performed by Bonnie Raitt, and " Have a Little Faith in Me," performed by Joe Cocker.
"I like this Scottish Rite, it sounds right to me," said Hiatt during the concert, his first appearance in Collingswood.
Linda Hunter was in attendance for the show. The Glendora woman is a volunteer for the Newton Colony Arts Bank that supports the performing arts in Collingswood, Westmont and Haddonfield.
"This building and its acoustics are awesome," she said. "No matter where you sit you can hear well because of the architecture of the building. It's not just the sound system."
Collingswood Mayor M. James Maley Jr. also attended the concert. He said by mid-April, a 60-year lease will be signed between the Masons, who own the temple, and the borough.
Under the proposed lease agreement, Collingswood would lease the building for $1 a year and pay approximately $7.5 million for renovations. The $7.5 million money will not come from local taxes but is to be derived from private financing, public and private grants, and long-term borrowing against anticipated revenue from performances at the auditorium, and rentals from weddings, banquets and conferences, Maley said.
Some of the upgrades anticipated include an amplification system to replace the current 1930s era system now in place, roof repairs, air conditioning and ladies' restrooms. The building also needs to be brought into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, said Maley.
"It's another method of making Collingswood a destination for people and will help all the businesses around it. It has enormous potential and we need to find a way to make it economically feasible," Maley said.
Jerry Chambers, owner of Eck's Jewelry and president of Collingswood Partners, said the building is a treasure to the borough.
"It's going to cost about $2.5 million on air conditioning alone, but it's estimated that it can be self-supporting, possibly bringing 400,000 to 500,000 people a year into the theater," Chambers said.
John Brenner, assistant secretary to the Excelsior Scottish Rite Bodies said the $7.5 million is an estimated figure from a feasibility study done by Kitchen and Associates Architectural Services PA of Collingswood about a year ago. Both the borough and the temple paid for the study.
"I think this is a win-win situation," said Brenner.
What's next
Upcoming Collingswood events include:
- Profile: Collingswood
- Collingswood: Blending its past, present
Incorporated in 1888, the borough of Collingswood has managed to hold on to its past while meeting the challenges of the present and looking forward to those of the future. - English as a Second Language classes double in size
While many teachers at Collingswood schools have seen their class sizes shrink over the past decade, the number of students in Alyce DelCastillo's classes has doubled in the last five years. - Collingswood booms with robust business districts
There's no doubt about it - business in Collingswood is booming. - Slowly, but surely, town's population is becoming younger
Joan Ferrara can easily recall three neighbors on her street - all of whom were well into their sunset years - who have passed away in the past few years. - Library stays connected to town's changing ethnic patterns
Like other institutions in this all-American inner-ring suburb, the Collingswood Public Library has found itself changing to meet the changing needs of the borough's citizenry. - Single-family homes in, duplexes out
Collingswood Mayor M. James Maley Jr. said just about every neighborhood in his borough has a problem duplex property. - Night life: The Living Room is the place to be
On the corner of Collings and Haddon avenues is a building that shines in the evening like a welcoming beacon on a mostly darkened street. It's The Living Room, a coffee house where locals and people from out of town gather to hear live music and have a good time. - What do you think will be different in Collingswood in 2010?
Donna Herbster, 31, owns Halo, a boutique on Haddon Avenueand lives above the store.