File photo | The Republic A portion of The Crump Theatre’s interior will be part of the Open Door Tour Saturday.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Crump Theatre has received a permit that would allow the 134-year-old icon of Columbus’ downtown to reopen to the public after being closed for nearly a decade due to safety hazards involving fire dangers and other concerns.
Columbus Crump LLC received an amusement and entertainment permit for the Crump Theatre following a series of inspections, including a site visit by the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office on Tuesday, according to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
The permit, which allows the Crump to hold public events, is valid until July 4, 2024, state records show.
The Columbus Fire Department, Bartholomew County Code Enforcement and a structural engineer from Columbus-based Katahdin Engineering LLC also inspected the aging theater before the permit was issued, officials said.
Jessica Schnepp, project manager for the Crump Theatre, did not respond to a request for comment.
However, the Crump Theatre posted a video on its Facebook page of the theater’s marquee lit up at night, stating “We did it” and “Open for business.”
In a Facebook post that accompanied the video, the theater thanked “all who believed in us,” volunteers and businesses and even the “‘Negative Nancys,’ keyboard warriors and naysayers” who “inspired us to work harder and longer to prove … this building had more potential than you thought possible.”
While an evaluation by a local engineering firm filed with Bartholomew County Code Enforcement states that it has “no concerns regarding the structural integrity” of the aging theater, an inspection by the Columbus Fire Department this past Tuesday documented 15 open violations of the state’s fire code in the building.
Some of those violations include extension cords being used to power air conditioning units, open wiring splices, as well as a violation related to set of doors installed between the lobby and the theater that “need to be removed,” according to the CFD’s inspection and local officials.
However, Columbus Fire Inspector Troy Todd said he conducted another inspection on the theater Friday and determined that all 15 of those violations had been fixed.
“Most of (the violations) are normal building maintenance issues,” Todd said. “…It is really not much different than (what) I find in a lot of older buildings that I go into.”
“They have some repairs to do, but they’re as safe (to reopen) as we can require them to be according to the code of record,” Todd added.
For the complete story, see Saturday’s Republic.
