By Diane Broncaccio
The Recorder
October 11, 2013
SHELBURNE FALLS — The “Raise the Roof” campaign to renovate the Arms Library’s Pratt Memorial Library Building has gotten a little closer to its goal this week, with a $5,000 donation from the Warner Bros. film studio. This week, Shelburne selectmen received a check from Warner Bros., earmarked for the library renovation, as a thank-you to the town for its support and cooperation during filming of “The Judge” this summer.
Along with the check was a letter from Executive Producer Herb Gains thanking town officials and residents, on behalf of the cast and crew of “The Judge.”
As of mid-September, library fundraisers had raised at least $191,000 toward the roof replacement and building renovation, which is expected to cost around $600,000.
Library officials hope to award construction bids for the roof and the foundation drainage system in April, with Phase I of the renovation to be completed by January 2015.
The second construction phase will depend upon how much money has been raised. It will include repointing the masonry, updating the library’s electrical system, insulating and repairing windows, installing an air-conditioning system, painting the interior and protecting the 100-year-old library’s murals.
Scenes from “The Judge” were filmed in the Shelburne Falls area in June. The cast includes Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga and Leighton Meester. The film is about a lawyer (Downey) who returns to his small New England hometown for his mother’s funeral and learns that his father is a murder suspect.
The movie is scheduled for release next October.
You can reach Diane Broncaccio at:
dbroncaccio@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 277