By Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
BORDENTOWN CITY — The old City Hall soon will see new life if one local group is successful.
Last year, the Old City Hall Restoration Project spun out from the Bordentown City Residents’ Association after many of the BCRA’s members noticed their common interest in the building on Crosswicks Street.
Since that time, a few dozen core members have been raising money and fixing up the historic building, which dates from the 1880s.
Once the home of the city’s entire municipal government — including a courtroom, firehouse and jail cells — the building is in need of a number of improvements.
While the Public Works Department has replaced the roof, fixed the clock tower and has been working to maintain the facility, the estimate for the building’s full rehabilitation is about $350,000.
Saturday, April 18, OCHRP will aim to make a dent in that number with “An Evening of Cole Porter,” a musical event set to take place in the 1,600-square-foot room on the building’s second story.
”We’ve been working on this since last fall,” said OCHRP co-chairman Jack Sade. “Crews of volunteers have spent a couple of weekends on it by now; people who’re dedicated to trying to bring the facility back.”
”We’re trying to do whatever we can do to try to bring it up to a place where we can have people in,” he said.
The group envisions using the building as a space for cultural events in the city.
”Part of the reason we want to do (the evening) is to showcase what a wonderful, wonderful facility it will be once it’s fixed up,” Mr. Sade said. “Just to have this kind of facility where we could have musical events, plays and lectures… It’s a gorgeous building, and, acoustically, it seems like it’s going to be absolutely wonderful.”
That’s appropriate, given the entertainment the group has lined up.
Local vocalists Robert Violette, a baritone, and Sara Blann-Crafts, a mezzo-soprano, will team up with pianist Bobbie Boulware to donate their time to the cause, playing the music of famed songwriter Cole Porter.
Ms. Blann-Crafts has sung throughout the country and in Italy, including with companies such as the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. Among her recent roles are Annina in Verdi’s “La Traviata” with Capitol City Opera in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Violette also has sung in a number of operas and with companies and orchestras. For the past six years, she has served as the leading baritone in the annual Assisi Music Festival in Italy.
Mr. Boulware has accompanied singers and instrumentalists on piano in the United States and abroad.
To prepare the second floor for the evening, Mr. Sade said volunteers have moved boxes and taken out a rail that went down the middle of the large room. Black-and-white decorations are planned.
Mr. Sade said the group chose Cole Porter because his classic songs, such as “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” are still popular today. Those standards, along with some of his lesser-known works, will be on the docket for the April 18 performance, which will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Admittance is limited to 99, and Mr. Sade said about half of the $25 tickets already had been sold Monday.
For more information on where to get tickets for the event, see the listing in Bordentown Jottings on page 12A of the print edition or visit our Around Town section online.

