Stage Left is coming down.
Demolition started Wednesday morning to tear down the long-empty, 96-year-old building next to Akron’s Civic Theatre in the heart of the city’s downtown on South Main Street.
The building’s most recognizable feature is the huge mural that covers the entire exterior wall facing the Lock 3 entertainment area.
The Stage Left tear-down is expected to take two to three weeks to complete. Akron is paying $160,000 for the demolition. Akron took possession of the multistory structure for free from Kent-based Main Street Partners LLC, which owns buildings on the other side of the Civic Theatre.
The demolition will make room in part for the Akron combined sewer overflow project and also open up access to the Lock 3 and Lock 4 entertainment and recreational areas. The city initially had hoped to start tearing down the building the week of May 16 and finish in time for the start of the summer concert season this Friday at Lock 3.
The building was given the nickname Stage Left after a Civic Theatre-related street-level boutique that set up inside the structure.
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him @JimMackinnonABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/JimMackinnonABJ