TRRCOPO to hold public ribbon cutting for renovated 120 South Madison Street building

By Editor | May 2, 2024 |

By DAVID CAMPHOUSE

David Camphouse/Pike Press
Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials (TRRCOPO) and the Pike County Chamber and Economic Development Corporation will hold a public ribbon cutting ceremony for the recently renovated TRRCOPO building at Pittsfield’s 120 South Madison Street. The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place Friday, May 10 at 10 a.m. at the front of the building. The public is invited to attend.

Jeremy Oshner, Executive Director of Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials (TRRCOPO), recently announced in a press release that the time has come for the organization to hold a ribbon-cutting and officially welcome the community back into the newly renovated Two Rivers Regional Council Pike County Office, food bank, and Reachout Thrift Store at 120 South Madison Street in Pittsfield.

The renovation work performed on the building has restored the exterior of the building to more closely resemble the building as it was originally constructed in the 1890s.

“The historic façade has been beautifully restored, and TRRC is thrilled to express our heartfelt gratitude to all who contributed to making this transformation possible,” Oshner wrote in the TRCCOPO release.

In the same release, Oshner went on to invite the public as well as community leaders to attend the building’s formal Pike County Chamber and Economic Development Corporation ribbon cutting ceremony to be held Friday, May 10 at 10 a.m. at the front of 120 South Madison Street location.

At the ribbon cutting, Two Rivers Regional Council staff members will talk about the building, how the building will help TRRCOPO better serve its mission in Pike County, and thank those involved in the building’s renovation..

According to TRRCOPO Marketing Coordinator Mark Schneider, the renovation work undertaken on the building’s facade was made necessary by debris and bricks falling from the face of the building, threatening cars and pedestrians.

“The building was causing a public safety hazard with cracks developing in the facade and bricks falling from the building,” Schneider said.

Schneider said that TRRCOPO is dedicated to maintaining the building as a central hub for the agency to serve Pike County residents.

“That location ties us into the community,” Schneider said. “The community knows us at that location. We offer so many different services to residents all out of that location.”

“This project is an investment into the community, an investment into Pike County. We want to keep the building viable, healthy, and usable. We want it to be a part of the community for a long time.”

A history of the TRRCOPO Building at 120 South Madison Street

In 1894, The KP (Knights of Pythias) Opera House was built by Clay Kibler, costing $7500. The dirt from the excavating of the Opera House was used to grade around the new courthouse with a red dome that was being built at the same time. KP Opera House and Castle officially opened on Jan 10th, 1895, with the vaudeville act “ Lost in New York”.

In the1900s, Burr Swan (member of KP) purchased and converted it into a movie house, showing silent films.

1913-16 saw the first remodel of the building.

In 1917, Clark Armentrout purchased the theater. From 1920-1937, Mr. Armentrout renovated the theater adding air conditioning and other modern amenities. On 6-11-1937 a glass front was added to the theater. Mr. Armentrout named it the Clark Theater. In1959, there was a marque fire. Mr. Armentrout died in 1960, and the theater closed.

The building was sold to the Greenburg Corporation. The John Green Store opened in April of 1960.

Then in 1964, PN Hirsch opened for business in the location.

In 1983, a Dollar General store moved into the building.

Dollar General moved to a new location in 1990.

In December of 1991, The Greenburg Trust sold the building to the Two Rivers Council Foundation.

The building has housed various TRRC operations since.

During the summer of 1993, the building was used as a flood relief station.

After making structural improvements to the interior and exterior of the building, we officially closed the building in August of 2023 to begin the façade project. The building was able to reopen to the public on March 1st, 2024.

We are amazed with the result and hope the community is happy with it as well. Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials wants to thank the Pike County Board, Tracy Family Foundation, and Liberty Bank for their support and funding for the project. We also want to thank Petty Construction Company, Architechnics Inc, and John Petty & Sons Custom Builders for the beautiful, finished product.

The REACHOUT Thrift Store, Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials Offices and the Food Bank are currently running out of the building.