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‘A Second Chance’

TV Show Featuring Moose Lodge To Air Today

The DIY Network show “Salvage Dawgs” will air the first of two episodes featuring the former Jamestown Moose Lodge tonight at 9 p.m. P-J file photo by Jordan W. Patterson

The former Jamestown Moose Lodge, and previous home to the prominent Galloway family, will be featured Monday night on the DIY Network show “Salvage Dawgs.”

The first episode of the season, scheduled to air at 9 p.m., will focus on the former Galloway Mansion at 405 E. Fifth St. Crews were in Jamestown for several days in early April filming for the show, which follows members of the Virginia-based business Black Dog Salvage.

The show’s website says “Salvage Dawgs” is a “trip into a world of shrewd negotiations as Robert Kulp and Mike Whiteside, co-owners of one of the premier architectural salvage operations in the United States, bid on homes and buildings condemned to be demolished.” One of the show’s goals, Whiteside told The Post-Journal on Saturday, is to highlight the importance of preserving architectural pieces before they end up in a landfill.

Two episodes will feature the city property; in addition to Monday’s premiere, the second episode of season 11 is scheduled to air on the DIY Network on Nov. 18.

Whiteside said the show — due to production costs — typically chooses to focus on projects within a few hours of Black Dog Salvage’s headquarters in Roanoke, Va. However, he said the show was approached by the Chautauqua County Land Bank Corp. about the then-recently vacated Moose lodge and its historic background.

Whiteside said after looking into it, the decision was made to make the 10-hour drive north to Jamestown and shoot two episodes worth of material.

“It turned out that the timing was right for the guys,” Whiteside said. “It was a little further then we normally go, but we were able to justify the trip. I had passed through Jamestown a long, long time ago. … Of course, it’s the birthplace of Lucille Ball, but that’s about all we knew about the place.”

He said crew members enjoyed their visit and the unique architecture the area has to offer. While in town, the crew also took a quick tour of the National Comedy Center.

“We wished we could have stayed longer,” Whiteside said.

The East Fifth Street property was most recently the home to the Jamestown Moose Lodge No. 1681, which quietly closed its doors earlier this year. In its beginning, the mansion was owned by the family of John Galloway, who made his fortune in the Pennsylvania oil business.

The site is also famous for its tie to Galloway’s daughter, Grace, a singer who died at the age of 27 to tuberculosis and is buried at the nearby Lake View Cemetery.

Whiteside said crews were able to salvage doors, windows and some tiles, among other items, as well as a “Moose Lodge” sign while on location. He said crews are still processing many of the items obtained in April.

The co-star and entrepreneur noted that oftentimes architectural gems are lost when structures fall into disrepair and later demolished.

“Once things get to the landfill it’s never going to be seen again,” Whiteside said. “It’s better to reclaim and reuse these things. There’s a lot of history there, and doing this allows it to live on. That’s what we’re all about — giving things a second chances. There are things being lost every day.”

“We would rather see a house saved than torn down,” Whiteside continued. “The next best use is the salvaging and repurposing.”

Gina Paradis, county Land Bank executive director, said in late April that officials had been in contact with the show’s producers to bring “Salvage Dawgs” to Jamestown.

“We coordinated over a long period of time. It was my hope to provide some national exposure for Jamestown and the (National) Comedy Center,” Paradis said at the time. “We really looked at the architectural items in the original house, the Galloway Mansion. We didn’t want to see those items being sent to the landfill. We knew the market locally wasn’t as great for this type of material as in other parts of the country. We looked at an opportunity to get some national visibility for the city and the comedy center. That is why we decided to go that route.”

Paradis previously said an asbestos survey had been scheduled, and that the mansion was slated for demolition. As of now, the property remains standing.

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