The country is celebrating its 234th birthday this weekend. In one Alleghany County town, they're also celebrating the life of a 105-year-old. "This is the bell of the ball that has remained here all along," says architect and historian Mark McConnel. The Masonic Theatre in downtown Clifton Forge turns 105 on July 4. Now the stage is set for a major renovation. "We're going to be putting state of the art equipment in the theatre," says John Hillert, President of the Masonic Theatre Preservation Foundation. "It's not a restoration, this is a rehabilitation," says McConnel. The Freemasons opened the building as an opera house in 1905. It was later used for vaudeville acts and movies. to "We see it becoming not just a cultural hub, but a community hub," says McConnel. more
