Eustis City Hall
City Hall, on the corner of Orange Ave. (Hwy. 44) and Grove
Street (Hwy. 19N), has housed the Eustis Police Department, city jail, children's
library and the Fire Department in the basement area of the buildings. The
main floor up the left set of steps was the library. On the right was the
Eustis Utility System, city offices and entrance to the auditorium. Through
the years, inside renovations and moves have left only the city offices there
now.
On stage in the auditorium
EUSTIS CITY AUDITORIUM
I made one last sentimental journey before the old city auditorium was razed to provide a new council room and other city offices. To walk into the old auditorium for me ws to turn backwards to a period when Eustis was a village and this now decaying building was the center of many social and cultural gatherings.
Even now with the stucco walls stained and cracked, much of the high ceilings lying crumbled on the floor, the layers of several decades of dust covering the seats, it still looks elegant. I enter one of the side doors which leads to the balcony, now slanting dangerously toward the main floor and recall the thrill of being old enough to sit there with the teenagers, leaving one's elders on the main floor. And then there was the untold joy of having a date and having all eyes turned to check out whom you were with and what you were wearing.
I wander slowly down the middle aisle toward the front and see the masks of tragedy and comedy and realize how unique it was for our little town to actually have an auditorium with an orchestra pit. I finger the brass railings tenderly visualizing the musicians who played there. I can almost her the sound of the Mason and Hamlin concert size grand piano which once stood on the stage. What ghosts are playing for me there! When those ancient blue velvet drapes were closed how the tension would build toward curtain time. And when they were pulled, to reveal one of several picturesque backdrops, no performance on Times Square could rival the magic.
Walking slowly around the state I am flooded with memories. Some performances were done by amateurs and others by well known professionals. However, more than this, I am thrilled with thoughts of the wonderful fun of being a part of the cast of many performances. I am pulled toward the small stairway leading up to musty dressing rooms, each with a slink and a mirror. I can almost smell the grease paint and hear the rustle of costumes.
When involved in a production it was an exciting and acrobatic feat, which only the young could accomplish, to race out the back stage door, past the town jail, go around the front of the building and up the front steps and down the hall to check the performance from the audience's view.
This great stage held a performance of the world famous Ted Shawn Dance Troop as well as the renowned Don Cassock Chorus. There were many symphony concerts from Rollins College and Stetson University. There were WPA concerts during the depression, civic choral concerts, yearly Kiwanis minstrel shows and Junior and Senior High School plays. During the years that the High School classes were held at the Elementary School, the entire High School walked to the auditorium each Friday for assemblies. At least four classes graduated from the auditorium and many band concerts were given. This one spot truly was a ciic gathering place, which brought old and young together to enjoy entertainment, better-at least in memory-than any television program could be.
contributed by JSM
I made one last sentimental journey before the old city auditorium was razed to provide a new council room and other city offices. To walk into the old auditorium for me ws to turn backwards to a period when Eustis was a village and this now decaying building was the center of many social and cultural gatherings.
Even now with the stucco walls stained and cracked, much of the high ceilings lying crumbled on the floor, the layers of several decades of dust covering the seats, it still looks elegant. I enter one of the side doors which leads to the balcony, now slanting dangerously toward the main floor and recall the thrill of being old enough to sit there with the teenagers, leaving one's elders on the main floor. And then there was the untold joy of having a date and having all eyes turned to check out whom you were with and what you were wearing.
I wander slowly down the middle aisle toward the front and see the masks of tragedy and comedy and realize how unique it was for our little town to actually have an auditorium with an orchestra pit. I finger the brass railings tenderly visualizing the musicians who played there. I can almost her the sound of the Mason and Hamlin concert size grand piano which once stood on the stage. What ghosts are playing for me there! When those ancient blue velvet drapes were closed how the tension would build toward curtain time. And when they were pulled, to reveal one of several picturesque backdrops, no performance on Times Square could rival the magic.
Walking slowly around the state I am flooded with memories. Some performances were done by amateurs and others by well known professionals. However, more than this, I am thrilled with thoughts of the wonderful fun of being a part of the cast of many performances. I am pulled toward the small stairway leading up to musty dressing rooms, each with a slink and a mirror. I can almost smell the grease paint and hear the rustle of costumes.
When involved in a production it was an exciting and acrobatic feat, which only the young could accomplish, to race out the back stage door, past the town jail, go around the front of the building and up the front steps and down the hall to check the performance from the audience's view.
This great stage held a performance of the world famous Ted Shawn Dance Troop as well as the renowned Don Cassock Chorus. There were many symphony concerts from Rollins College and Stetson University. There were WPA concerts during the depression, civic choral concerts, yearly Kiwanis minstrel shows and Junior and Senior High School plays. During the years that the High School classes were held at the Elementary School, the entire High School walked to the auditorium each Friday for assemblies. At least four classes graduated from the auditorium and many band concerts were given. This one spot truly was a ciic gathering place, which brought old and young together to enjoy entertainment, better-at least in memory-than any television program could be.
contributed by JSM