THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 9, 1996 TAG: 9606070163
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 113 lines
MORE THAN 50 years ago, Maurice Gamell put a quarter on a table and said he was starting a building fund for the new Club DePorres.
Today, club members not only own property, but they also are refurbishing it for a new expanded club on High Street. They own a big piece of a city block containing three old buildings and are planning to build a new office building for lease at the corner of Chestnut and King streets.
``We know Downtown Portsmouth is undergoing revitalization, and we want to be part of it,'' club president Reginald Connor said. ``We want to mesh with the city and the Ray Gindroz plan, and the city has been very receptive to us.''
The club, a social organization formed by a group of black Catholics working in Portsmouth during World War II, met for five decades in leased quarters.
Meanwhile, that building fund started by Gamell continued to grow, untouched until 1993, when the club bought the buildings and land from High Street to King Street along Chestnut Street.
The property, part of which has been the site of the club's headquarters since 1976, also includes the old Lyric Theater and other buildings.
``This is the fulfillment of a dream,'' Connor said.
Over the past two years, club members have been busy remodeling the interior of their existing club and the two spaces adjoining it.
``We have all trades in the membership,'' Connor said. ``We have a list of things to do, and if people want to volunteer, they do. You have to realize that everybody can't do the same thing and that people have to participate to their own level of satisfaction.''
Currently, the members are working on the building known as 905 High St., a space adjacent to the existing club building that they have not been using. It will become a members-only key club.
Then the members will remodel current club space into rooms that will be available for rental to the public for meetings and service organizations.
``It will be available to charity organizations for fund-raisers, and the city will be able to use it, too,'' Connor said.
Ultimately, the club hopes to refurbish the old Lyric Theatre.
``It's the only black theater left standing, and we would like to restore it to its original splendor,'' Connor said. ``It, too, could be used by all the citizens of Portsmouth.''
But, he added, this is not an attempt to evade taxes for Club DePorres.
``We are a nonprofit organization, but we choose to pay taxes,'' he said.
The proposed free-standing office building on the corner of Chesnut and King streets would be a money-making proposition for the club. The club has hired an architect to draw a plan for a building with space for three rental offices. Off-street parking would be provided.
Club members are proud of their independent status.
``Right now, we don't owe anybody anything,'' Connor said. ``The property is lien free.''
That could change when the club gets into major construction of an addition to their club building and of the new office building.
``We know we will need some help, but we want to keep it manageable,'' he said.
The club owns the buildings and land outright because, after years of negotiating with the estate trust that owned the property, it finally acquired the buildings and land for $45,000, much less than half of the listing price of $110,000.
Over many years before occupancy by the Club DePorres, the building on the corner of High and Chestnut streets housed a soda shop, a barber shop and a grocery store.
The club has been a stabilizing force on a corner that has seen its ups and downs.
Currently, the club has about 135 active members from all over South Hampton Roads. The members range in age from people like Bessie Livermon, still an active member 52 years after she joined as a young woman, to Roderick Hawkins, now chairman of the board of directors who joined in 1987.
``We have young families coming along,'' Livermon said. Her own children are members along with the children of her contemporaries.
``Everybody thinks this is just a private club for parties,'' Connor said. ``But it goes deeper than that.''
He pointed to the letters RCS on the club's sign over the High Street entrance. The letters stand for Religious, Charitable and Social.
``We're not a political organization, but you must be a registered voter if you are a member of the club,'' Connor said. ``We don't tell members how to vote. We just ask them to exercise their right to vote.''
The club, started under the auspices of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church to offer fellowship and relaxation to young black people, first was called the Eldorado Club, which meant ``land of golden opportunity.'' The name was changed when, in the process of obtaining a charter, members learned there was a club in Norfolk incorporated under the same name.
The name, Club DePorres, was chosen in honor and tribute to Blessed Martin DePorres, who later was canonized and became the first black Catholic saint.
Although the club now is only about 20 percent Catholic, the club still functions as a religious and charitable group, Livermon said. Over the years, the club has contributed money and service to many organizations, and it has supported many community projects such as Oasis, Holiday House, the Joy Fund, St. Mary's Soup Kitchen, Miller Day Nursery, Wesleyan Community Center and Little Sisters of the Poor.
The club has joined the Olde Towne Portsmouth Association, a group of business and professional people dedicated to rebuilding Downtown.
``We want to complement what's going on in the city and be part of it,'' Connor said. MEMO: [Related stories on page 13.] ILLUSTRATION: Sketch courtesy of KIRK BERKELEY
The architect's sketch shows how the outside of the Club DePorees
will look from the front, top, and sides, bottom.
Staff photos by MARK MITCHELL
Reginald Connor, president of the Club DePorres, chats with friends
in the main meeting room of the club.
Connor checks one of the rooms being remodeled. When the project is
finished, the rooms will be availble for rental to other
organizations.
KEYWORDS: REDEVELOPMENT VISION 2005 by CNB