Police-Fire Substation Proposed for Old South Norwood Theater Site-November 6, 1972

Selectmen Vote Preliminary Approval to Revive Proposal for Washington Street Public Safety Facility

A proposal to construct a fire-police substation on the site of the old South Norwood theater on Washington Street has received a preliminary vote of confidence from selectmen. Acting on the suggestion of Selectman William F. Butters, the board voted last week to retain the theater land for official town purposes, reviving the substation proposal originally raised by his father, the late Selectman Harry E. Butters, and the late Selectman John (Alec) Abdallah.

Mr. Butters proposed using the Washington Street land, after the old theater building is demolished, for a police-fire facility which could house three pieces of equipment, as well as fire and police personnel. Two weeks ago, selectmen took the first step to pave the way for town use of the land by authorizing Town Manager John P. Mogan to seek a $4,800 transfer from the finance commission to demolish the now unused theater. Last night, Mr. Butters said he planned to continue pushing for the proposal never went very far when his father originally suggested it, because appreciation in the property’s value over the years has made it too expensive.

The lot and the building on it was bought by the town after owners John and Mary Hayes closed the theater for lack of business, he said. Since that time, Mr. Butters added, the lot has remained idle without producing any tax revenue for the town. Mr. Butters said it was a potential fire hazard and should be demolished. Although, according to Building Inspector John E. Grover, the building is not enough of a hazard to have it condemned, it is also not safe enough to be used for a theater. At present, he said, the town is stuck with it and should use it for better purposes. According to Mr. Butters, the possibility that the original owners would buy back the land has not materialized, he said.

Mr. Butters said a fire-police facility on the site could serve the needs of South Norwood, especially the new junior high school being built at Endean Park. He also commented that the substation would be the same distance from Norwood Hospital as the present police station, serving a different area of town. Citing the death of a youngster at the nearby Hawes swimming pool this summer, Mr. Butters said that resuscitators could be brought more quickly from the new fire substation. He cited present problems in South Norwood due to the absence of a substation. Policemen on the beat sometimes have to be picked up in police cars to be brought to the central station to go to the bathroom and for coffee in cold weather, he said. A substation, he added, would eliminate the necessity of taking those men off the beat.

He contended that such a substation could be built less expensively without a cellar which would require heavy beams. He also explained that just concrete blocks could be used because of the close vicinity of buildings on each side of the theater lot. Of the present theater building, Mr. Butters said it was a potential fire hazard and should be demolished.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger