Century Ballroom to stay at Odd Fellows

Many of us were concerned to hear that the 100-year-old Odd Fellows building on Capitol Hill had sold late last year. The site has long been home to numerous arts organizations, including my favorite - Century Ballroom. After the sale, the fate of most of those organizations was up in the air. So it was a relief when Century owner Hallie Kuperman sent a mass e-mail to customers last night. In it, Hallie says she has essentially agreed to a 10-year lease with the new owners. She told me today that she has a letter of intent, but is holding off on buying champagne until the lease is actually signed. So, barring any glitches, Century isn't going anywhere. Hallie gave a passionate speech to City Council about preserving arts on the Hill recently, saying: "the fact is, buying a building for small arts organizations just isn't easy. There aren't incentives to help keep Arts and Culture thriving in each neighborhood ... What I would ask is that the Council take action to help support smaller arts organizations to purchase property." You can read the rest of her speech on Century's Web site (Click on the tab called "building sale").

Update: CHS Blog says Linda Derschang, owner of Smith, Viceroy and Linda's, plans a new cafe in the Odd Fellows building.