A bit of history on a rainy Halloween night

(spooky bat art for Halloween created by artist Richard DiCarlo of Derby, Ct.)

Welcome to the Sterling Opera House

Is this historic building haunted?

Some are convinced that it is.

And that bit of information is all I needed to know last week when artist Rich DiCarlo, president of our local Valley Arts Council, invited me and a few others to step inside the Sterling Opera House in Derby, Ct. on Halloween.

I took him up on the offer, but not without first inviting blogging buddy Linda, Duchess of Norwich-Upon-Thames, who I knew would be interested in visiting this historic building, as well as in looking for ghosts.

She immediately was intrigued, and asked me to find out if she could bring along her friend, Amy. That was fine with the arts council prez.

Since Linda had never been to the area, we arranged a meeting at the Derby Train Station (below), which looks rather haunted here, don't you agree? The rain was coming down in buckets for a few minutes, so we waited in our cars for it to pass.

Here is another view (below) that I snapped through the windshield.

I like how this photo came out; I confess a bit of sepia-fying went into the final product.But back to the Sterling Opera House...seen in this picture in 1889, the year it was completed.

It stands majestically across from the old Derby Green, vacant since it was last used as City Hall in the 1960s. Renovations are in the works. Its ornate cupola is being repaired and is expected to be replaced in the spring.

(I just noticed that our Duchess Linda has written a comprehensive post about our experience...much longer and more detailed than this post will be, but I will forge ahead. )

The American flag in the above photo is hanging from a lamppost on the perimeter of the Green along Elizabeth Street, across from the opera house. The Second Congregational Church, and its long-vacant parsonage next door, can be seen in the background.

When Rich unlocked the side door, a musty odor greeted us as we entered the building.

Dark? Yes. We all were armed with flashlights and extra batteries. And digital cameras. Duchess Linda had two with her. I had my trusty Canon point and shoot.

We entered the theater and our 2 1/2-hour journey began...walking amongst debris, dust, piles of wood, and more debris. Did I mention it was dusty?

Here is Duchess Linda walking past one of the walls...dilapidated place, isn't it?

Below is another view of the theater, right near the stage. See any orbs? No? That's because I cropped them out of this photo. We'll leave the orb story for another day. Stay tuned for that.

I'm off to work, to get official vote numbers from yesterday's local elections.