Rooftop garden blooms on Hanover Theater

By PATTY POIST, Evening Sun Reporter, July 30, 2008

	Stacie Johnson-Leske looks through vegetable plants she and her husband, David Leske, are growing atop the Hanover Theater on Frederick Street. The couple, who are in the process of restoring the historic theater, started the garden to help cut down on grocery bills and provide a little flowering oasis in downtown Hanover. (Evening Sun Photo by James Robinson)

     Dave Leske and wife Stacie Johnson-Leske are cultivating a lot more than the performing arts in the Hanover area.
     "Right smack dab in the middle of town," as the popular Drifters' song goes, the pair are growing squash, eggplant, tomatoes, corn, cucumbers and peppers - up on the roof at Hanover Theater on Frederick Street.
     Each day, the couple climb the stairs and go into the theater's old projector booth, where they crawl through a window to water and harvest their bounty, which now includes some impressive-looking zucchini.
     They even have petunias to attract bees for pollination.
"It was a little tricky to convince the bees to come up here, but they found it," said Leske, general manager of Historic Hanover Theater LLC, which is hoping to restore the 80-year-old theater to its earlier grandeur and bring in Broadway-grade performances.
     The couple live on her legal secretary's income as he is a full-time volunteer. The garden, they said, is a good way to supplement their grocery bill, particularly with skyrocketing food costs. The green haven is also a relaxing pastime for the busy pair, who live in an apartment inside the theater, they said.
     Not only are the two hoping to bring more performing arts to the area, but they also are offering up a small example of urban vitality and ways to make downtown living more attractive, said borough Councilwoman Heidi Hormel.
     "People think if they don't have a big suburban lot or a country lot, you can't grow produce," Hormel said.
     The couple moved to Hanover in January from Richmond, Va., after visiting here and falling in love with the old theater.
     "I can't wait until there are 50 Daves and Stacies downtown," Hormel said. "They are recapturing part of what makes downtown so wonderful."

Stacie Johnson-Leske harvests vegetables last week from the rooftop garden she and her husband, David Leske, maintain atop the Hanover Theater. (Evening Sun Photo by James Robinson)

     According to an April 2008 survey conducted by Toronto-based Green Roofs for Healthy Cities -- North America Inc., overall growth in the industry jumped 30 percent from 2006 to 2007.
     Rooftop gardens are not only good for strapped budgets but for the environment as well.
     "Green roofs are an important component of green infrastructure," the organization said in a news release. "They provide valuable public benefits related to stormwater management, reduction of the urban heat island, improvement of air quality, including removal of particulate matter, and general improvement of the quality of life in communities."
     The Leskes also enjoyed the roof recently to watch the fireworks launched from Moul Field on July 4.
     It's safe to say, it has a romantic component and brings to mind the Drifters' song, written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and also popularized by James Taylor.
     "That right smack dab in the middle of town. I found a paradise that's troubleproof. And if this old world starts a getting you down. There's room enough for two. Up on the roof ... ."