Penn Theater mosaic gets final touches
Community members and Butler PM Rotarians alike got their grout on at the Penn Theater lot on North Main Street, Tuesday, July 14.
Grouting is one of the final steps in creating the five-panel mosaic to hang on the side of the almost 90 year-old theater. It comes on the heels of Butler’s inaugural Steeples and Stacks heritage festival. The mosaic aims to honor Butler County’s industrial and cultural history.
By placing it on the outside of the Penn Theater, it aims to draw the attention of all who walk on Main Street.
“I think it’ll be a showpiece,” Butler County Commissioner and Rotarian Leslie Osche said. “I think it’s going to be a showcase for what is considered to be the heart of the cultural district.”
Ahead of the “grouting party,” Lincoln, Neb.-based glass artist Carrie Ann Strope mixed together the aggregates to make the grout.
Once it was ready to be applied, Strope and community members helped to gently place layers of grout on the entire surface of the mosaic to help seal off its cement to prevent it from getting damaged by moisture.
Once the grout is dry, Strope will then polish the grout off the top of the mosaic to reveal the design underneath.
The grout often adds a lot to the design, Strope said. She said she is hopeful the black grout lines make the design pop.
Once the design is polished, a contractor will need to hang a scaffolding from the side of the Penn Theater so the mosaic can be attached to its brick outer face.
It will look like a picture hanging on the wall, Strope said.
Boy Scout Troop 6 assistant scoutmaster Jay Stahl said his family was involved in Butler’s roaring industries and effort during World War II and he appreciated the mosaic’s connection to local history.
Stahl and his sons, who were at the grouting party to represent their troop, helped to grout the mosaic.
The boy scouts are “all about giving back,” Stahl said of playing their part in getting the mosaic done.
The five-panel mosaic was designed by Strope, who spent time in Butler learning about the community talking to local artists and leaders.
Strope sketched out the history of Butler as she heard it.
“It incorporates our history of industry. It incorporates the arts,” executive director of the Penn Theater Jaloyn Fockler said. “It incorporates the fact that the Jeep was first manufactured, the Bantam car, here in Butler.”
The Penn Theater’s board of directors voted unanimously to accept the mosaic’s installation when asked, Fockler said.
Strope has been involved in numerous glass mosaic installations across the country, including the 2021 Coexist in Kindness Mosaic Mural in Steelton, Pa., outside of Harrisburg.
The mosaic’s installation will be done in coming weeks, depending on the schedule of the contractor.
Osche is hopeful that when they know the date of the installation, they can organize an event in conjunction with the theater to celebrate its hanging.
