KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City's historic Folly Theater is working to reopen this weekend after vandals caused more than $460,000 in damage during a break-in early Friday morning.
Fire extinguisher residue covered the theater's wood floors, seats, stage and electrical equipment. Nearly 70 cleaning crew members have worked 10-hour days since Friday to restore the venue.
The damage included the destruction of all six video monitors in the west lobby box office and concessions area, broken glass, and disarray in the lobby and bar areas.
“We just can’t wrap our brains around something like this because it’s just not something a normal person would do,” said Cassidy Manetta, marketing manager at the Folly Theater and one of the first people to see the damage. “It just seems so mean and so violent.”
Walking in that morning was devastating for Manetta.
“You almost don’t believe it right away,” she said.
Jeff Klein, commercial account manager for the SERVPRO team leading the cleanup efforts, said, “To see it defaced like that — it was disappointing.”
“You could see it (fire extinguisher residue) coating the seats, the floors, the stage, the electrical equipment — it was everywhere,” Klein said. “A lot of very detailed cleaning.”
The Kansas City Police Department is investigating the vandalism. No arrests have been made and investigators haven't determined a motive or the full extent of damages.
Manetta said this is not the first time the Folly Theater has been vandalized. In the 1960s, when the venue featured X-rated attractions, someone dropped a pipe bomb on the side of the building. The pipe bomb blew out the windows of 18 nearby buildings.
“But shockingly, the Folly still stood,” she said.
Folly Theater employees haven’t found anything missing.
About the same time as the rampage inside the theater, vandals damaged windshields on at least eight cars on Jefferson and West 10th streets. Police haven't confirmed whether the incidents are connected.
“I’m a little nervous about my safety in this area,” said a neighbor who asked not to be identified. She’s afraid the vandals will return.
She woke up scared early Friday morning after hearing glass breaking.
“I heard smashing outside," she said. "It sounded like someone was breaking into my apartment."
“It sounded like a bunch of people running around," the woman said. "Just more smashing.”
Another neighbor said there are usually a lot of vehicles parked in the area, but since the windshields were broken, people are afraid to park in the area.
The police department said as of Tuesday morning, no reports had been filed by anyone whose vehicle was damaged.
Neighbors say they’re hoping for change.
“I hope we see some accountability,” one witness said.
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