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Memorial Hall

As the summer season begins, we are revisiting and summarizing some of the ongoing issues that have captured our attention during the past year.

PINE PLAINS — Plans to convert Memorial Hall — a former moviehouse and vaudeville venue, not to mention home of a coffee shop, hair salon and offices — into a performing arts center for the Tri-state region are well underway. 

Business partners Jack Banning, Christian Eisenbeiss and Ariel Schlein, as part of SEB Holdings Management, LLC, bought the decrepit building in May 2014 for $199,000. According to Banning, New York City architect Doug Larson has offered to do the design work pro bono.

Already there’s a new business at Memorial Hall. This May the Pine Plains Laundromat opened at the rear of the building, during a well-attended ribbon-cutting ceremony. It replaced a former laundromat in that location which closed its doors a number of years ago.

The mobile medical van Pro-Mujer has also set up camp at Memorial Hall. On the fourth Monday of every month the van is stationed there to provide free OBGYN care to low-income and immigrant women.

Memorial Hall is located at 2950 Church St. (Route 199), next door to the Stissing House.

Lakeville Journal

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