WILKES-BARRE -- The Irem Temple in Wilkes-Barre is one of the most recognizable buildings in the city, but it has sat vacant for a decade. Now, plans are in the works to try to save it.
An architect from Wilkes-Barre designed plans on his own time to try to preserve key elements of the Irem Temple.
“Before we lose the building entirely there is another option that uses the Coliseum in Rome as a model,” said architect Rick Williams.
Williams wants to save the spires and dome, but demolish the stage and knock down the walls. That would create a line of sight between the temple and the Millennium Circle on River Street.
“The Millennium Circle portal is set up to be right on the axis with this building, and when the selected demolition is completed, that notion will be observable,” Williams said.
The Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce owns the Irem Temple. It plans to meet with Williams and anyone in the community interested in preserving it. But now, many hope the chamber puts a plan together quickly, so it doesn't have the same fate as the city's once-prized Hotel Sterling.
That building deteriorated so badly, it had to be demolished in 2013.
“Too many things like that fall apart and they're gone, you never get them,” said Sandy Kane of Forty Fort.
While Williams continues to tweak his plans to preserve the Irem Temple, Wilkes-Barre Councilman Tony Brooks wants to gather the community to come up with a plan to pay for preserving it.
William's plan is expected to cost a couple million dollars, but that's much less than what it would take to completely renovate it.