Update 7/1/24

Question: Will the Cinema be completely restored? Allegedly some movie houses have been torn down because mold deterioration was too advanced. How severe is the damage in actuality?

Answer:

A complete facility restoration is not in the scope of the work being done now; rather, the Institution is attending to the problem discovered this spring. The issue at hand is mold, and the specialists we have consulted believe it can be addressed with the prescribed mitigation approach. The project also includes work on the ventilation system to prevent the problem from happening again.

UPDATE 6-28-24:

In early June, we announced that the Chautauqua Cinema would not be able to open for the 2024 season due to mold discovered during the Town of Chautauqua’s Code Enforcement Officer’s annual inspection of the building. We have since received and reviewed the environmental report and project plan. Crews will begin mold mitigation and ventilation system upgrades beginning in the first week of July 2024. We expect this work to take up to eight weeks. During this time, you may notice additional vehicles and equipment at the Chautauqua Cinema. We will work closely with the crews to ensure that the remediation and ventilation work does not impact the serenity of our grounds during the season.

We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work on the facility and prepare to bring the Chautauqua Cinema back for a triumphant return in 2025. We will keep the community updated as this work progresses, and we thank Cinema Director Billy Schmidt for his ongoing expertise and support for this work. Schmidt shared his enthusiasm, saying, “I’m very pleased to see this work happening so quickly, and I will be thrilled to welcome you back to the Chautauqua Cinema next June.”

ORIGINAL POST:

Institution officials announced Wednesday the Chautauqua Cinema would not be able to open for business this summer due to mold that was discovered during the annual building permit process. Some Chautauquans responded with accusations the Institution was negligent and that it “doesn’t care about the Cinema.”

The Chautauqua Cinema building (Higgins Hall) has been maintained the same way over the years without ever having a problem of this magnitude. The building has a partial cooling system, but no heat, no insulation, and we are unable to open windows for airflow due to exterior moisture. The cooling system is not activated until occupancy. The weather conditions have changed as dramatically as they did this year in a period of months over the winter/spring where we would have one day of 20-degree weather followed by another day of 60-degree weather. Our crews DID go into the space in the winter and spring months. At the beginning of June, the new code enforcement officer came for his annual occupancy certificate inspection and found mold growth. We suspect that this growth happened very rapidly between our Building and Grounds team visit and before the inspector’s visit due to the inconsistent weather conditions. We are working with a professional team on a cleanup plan and will resolve this all soon. In the meantime, we ask for patience and understanding of the facts behind this situation. We all want what’s best for Chautauqua and are working very diligently to accomplish the best for the Institution and our Chautauqua family.

History: The Chautauqua Cinema was an independently operated facility through 2021. In 2022, the Institution assumed ownership of the business, at the request of the owner, Billy Schmidt. Billy has continued on as director of the cinema as an Institution seasonal staff person.