The initiative to restore the Rec, a historic landmark for SCH students, began with hopes of transforming the old theater building into a state-of-the-art performing arts center. But this cannot be done without remembering the past.
The Rec was built in 1884 as a horse stable for the Inn before being transformed into a recreation center in 1901 and nicknamed ‘The Rec’.
In 1940, the property was given to the school and first used by the Wissahickon Badminton Club in 1945.
Due to their lack of a performance facility, the SCH Players previously performed in the neighboring gym and commons. They had failed to raise the money for a new performing arts center, so they transitioned to The Rec.
Formal renovations on The Rec to convert it into a functioning performing facility began in 1973 and were completed in 1974. “The students and their parents helped do the actual work after school and weekends,” said Kristin Norton, the director of development at SCH.
With so much history, people in the community will find a loss in the renovation of a place important to their time at SCH. However, the rich past that The Rec shares with the school will allow it to continue, advance, and be appreciated to a greater extent by the SCH community.
The multi-year process for planning the Restore The Rec campaign included promoting, soliciting money, and designing the new building. The development office, which was involved in promoting and fundraising parts of the project, made posters with renderings of the new Rec to show off during performances, and pursued donations for the campaign from people in the SCH community.
The Restoration of the Rec committee, formed at the start of the project and composed of previous Players, helped take care of marketing and created an archives team to track down playbills, go through yearbooks, and ensure that all Players in the alumni database were identified.
Several important individuals were also involved in the campaign. Maidenbaum, in particular, was very involved in the design of the new Rec and had a lot of impact on how things were going to function and look. Frank Aloise, the chief financial officer, managed the physical construction side of things. This included finding contractors and architectural experts and getting a permit from the city to start the renovations.
The process of pursuing donations from members of the community was a long operation where various strategies were used to encourage people to donate, one of which was appealing to the sentimental aspects of Players. A majority of the campaign’s donors were alumni and former Players,
so the development office often reached out to old directors and had them write letters to the Players they directed, encouraging them to donate. Norton noted that people have a strong sense of nostalgia and gratitude for their time in Players. Reaching out to the community that had ties to The Rec and SCH theater helped the campaign reach the required amount of money for the renovation.
For years, the performing arts building has been hidden, not shown or advertised when new families tour or when SCH is spotlighted in Philadelphia.
“We have a lot of people in our community who actually don’t even really know what The Rec is or where The Rec is because it is sort of tucked away,” says Daria Maidenbaum. This is expected to change once The Rec gets a facelift. “I think it’ll be a good showpiece,” Kristin Norton comments. “I mean, if you’re taking a family on a tour that might be considering SCH, and even if they don’t know if their child is going to be interested in drama later on, but they see this beautiful building, that just makes our whole campus more desirable.”
Additionally, there is an accessibility element to the reason behind the renovation.
The current Rec is hard for mobility-impaired individuals to approach due to the limited parking and lack of a wheelchair ramp, which makes the walk to The Rec long and treacherous since there is only a secluded and informal path from the school down to the building.
“The accessibility of the space is really important, whether that’s for families or people coming to see the show,” said Maidenbaum. “If someone is in a wheelchair or has mobility aids, being able to more easily get into The Rec is huge and important.” It is not currently easy for handicapped students to participate “If we have students who have various disabilities that might make mobility hard, currently, there hasn’t been a way that someone could easily participate in Players.”
The renovation of The Rec will make it an inclusive, accessible, healthier, newer, and more noticeable environment, improving Players and bringing the space from 1974 into the 21st century.
But this does not change the emotions brought forth by alumni and especially the upperclassmen of Players, who will be parted from The Rec for their last shows.
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