For more than six decades, residents from Bridgeport and beyond have often found themselves in the bottom floor of the Benedum Civic Center enjoying a meal. Whether it was a chili feed, a pancake feast, a senior citizen’s luncheon, a spaghetti dinner or even one of likely hundreds of receptions, there’s a good chance if you’re from this area you’ve had a meal at the Civic Center.

 

If you did dine in the Main Street facility, you were likely serviced by an old Canadian-manufactured oven that was always part of the culinary equation. Last week, an oven that was part of the original building – for 61 years – was put out of service.

 

“It was time and, to be honest, it was failing a bit,” said Bridgeport Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Joe Shuttleworth. “It’s one of the parts of what I guess you could call a mini-revitalization of the Civic Center.”

 

Last week, Stout Company out of Clarksburg came in and did this part of the revitalization. The old stove was removed and in its place was a new stainless steel, six burner, two-oven commercial stove.

 

“It’s honestly not a whole lot different from the old one, but it does have a better upgrade with how gas is utilized and it’s going to be much more reliable,” said Shuttleworth. “The company that made the original one is actually still in business and we looked to go back with them, but the turnaround for them was months. The turnaround for the stove we have now, which pricewise was a wash, was less than a week.”

 

For the past few years the Civic Center has undergone several minor renovations. Along with the exterior painting of the structure and the addition of new curtains throughout, Shuttleworth said eventually there will be new flooring, work on the restrooms and much more done.

 

“The building is so widely utilized by the community that it’s important to keep it up to speed,” said Shuttleworth. “As for the kitchen, most of the items in there have been replaced and are in relatively good shape. Even though the old stove was still working, if there was a catastrophic issue with it I would imagine finding parts for a 61-year-old piece of equipment would have been difficult.”

 

Shuttleworth said getting the Vulcan brand stove and installation was roughly a $4,000 project.  He said it would be hard to guarantee that this stove will last 61 years.

 

“I don’t know if they make things like they used to, but we hope this lasts a long time,” said Shuttleworth. “I’m certain, though, that the Civic Center and, ultimately, the community will get their money out of it.”

 

Editor's Note: Workers install the new stove on the bottom floor of the Benedum Civic Center last week.