Seneca Building upgrade project on schedule; Horne Museum to open in May

A Main Street anchor will regain some of its original Art Deco luster and add new facets as Pitt-Bradford renovates its Seneca Building in downtown Bradford and installs the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center on the ground floor.

The bottom floor of the six-story building on Bradford's Veterans Square has been gutted in preparation for the museum, which will feature exhibits displaying some items from the personal archives of the world-famous opera singer, who was born in Bradford.

Meanwhile, tenants on floors 2 through 6 have been able to continue to come and go and conduct business as usual. The building remains accessible through both the front and back doors.

When the project is finished in May 2017, the museum will occupy the eastern half of the first floor, with a glass wall separating the display area from the rest of the floor.

The museum will hold a small theater viewing area for a video about Horne. Hillman & Carr Inc., a company specializing in museum displays, will create the videos in the exhibit as well as displays such as recreations of costumes from Horne's great roles sung at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

The Washington-based Hillman & Carr has designed displays for the Smithsonian Institution, the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, and the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, among others.

Also on the bottom floor will be a cafe-gift shop where visitors will be able to purchase museum memorabilia, Pitt and Pitt-Bradford items, Starbucks coffee, and snacks.

Tenants of the building have requested a snack bar and café ever since the Blue and Gold Café left the building. That café operated about a decade ago while the university was undergoing renovations on campus and using the Seneca Building for classroom and faculty office space.

In addition to the café, the South Avenue side of the building will include offices for the Bradford Creative and Performing Arts Center; a space that can be used as a classroom, meeting or entertaining space; and an office for a museum docent, a new position that will be created.

The first-floor art room that was used by the university's Division of Continuing Education and Regional Development has been relocated to a bright corner spot on the building's fourth floor.

The $5.7 million renovation will also include an upgraded heating, ventilation and air conditioning system throughout as well as a restoration of the building's original deco façade. Architect McLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni of Pittsburgh consulted photos and plans for the building as it was originally constructed in 1931 as the meeting place of the International Order of the Oddfellows.

This month, workers could be seen cleaning the ground floor sandstone with power washers. Ground floor windows have been removed and will be replaced with what was originally there - black glass on the bottom, clear glass, and then backlit white glass. The architects have also designed a modern portico with a nod to the building's art deco roots.

New tenants are already expressing interest in renting out office space in the upper floors. Plans are being made to create additional parking for the building at the adjacent site of the former Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks building that was recently demolished. The parking area will include some landscaping.

The Bradford construction company Carl E. Swanson and Sons is serving as general contractor for the project.

The building renovation and museum construction are being made possible in part through a $3 million grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, and Rep. Marty Causer, R-Turtlepoint, were instrumental in helping Pitt-Bradford secure the grant through the McKean County Industrial Development Authority.

Horne, who is Bradford's most famous native daughter, was born in 1934. Her father, Bentze Horne, encouraged her to pursue her musical dreams. She moved with her family to Long Beach, Calif., when she was 11 and made her debut when she was 20 at the Los Angeles Opera Guild. Following her father's death in 1956, she traveled Europe, performing in many productions and receiving rave reviews.

Horne was considered one of the world's premiere mezzo sopranos for more than 40 years, becoming not only a star of the opera world, but also an ambassador to pop culture through appearances on “The Odd Couple,” “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” “Carol Burnett and Friends” and “Sesame Street.”

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