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Grant a wish come true for arts

Stephen Szucs | The Chronicle-Telegram

State money would convert Eagles building into city culture hub with Palace Theatre

LORAIN — A state grant of more than $400,000 could help turn the Palace Theatre into a central hub for arts in the city.

The theater intends to partner with the city to renovate the Eagles building, located next to the theater on Broadway, and to connect the two buildings via a large glass arcade.

John Handyside, executive director of the theater, said the buildings would be operated as separate entities but would have the same goal — pumping up the arts in the city.

“You look around in different communities like Lakewood, and you can see where the arts are really the cornerstone in turning things around,” he said. “By bringing this cultural arts center to Lorain, maybe we can help pick the city back up.”

A little more than $300,000 of the grant’s $410,000 total would be used to purchase the Eagles building, while the rest would be used for renovations.

An additional $7.5 million would be needed to complete the project, which includes renovating the interior and exterior of the 37,000-square-foot Eagles building, as well as a section of the theater and the construction of the arcade.

The street level of the arcade would provide entertainment and seating for restaurants, museums and historical displays, while the second-floor gallery would provide a direct route from the theater to the visual and performing arts center in the Eagles building.

The building also could host banquets, wedding receptions and artists’ studios, Handyside said.

“There are lots of other rooms throughout the building, and we’re still deciding how to use all the space,” Handyside said. “But there are a lot of possibilities.”

With the building and the theater being operated as two separate entities, one wouldn’t be a financial drain on the other, Handyside said.

The theater’s endowment fund has raised about $6 million since 1977, which leads Handyside to believe that the process of raising more money for the Eagles building could take awhile.

“I’m not going to candy-coat this — it’s going to take a lot of work,” he said. “But we’re up to the challenge.”

Lorain City Council must still approve acceptance of the funds and will discuss the project during its next committee meeting Monday.

Lorain Service Director Robert Gilchrist said the project has been in the hopper for several years and finally came about with some extra collaboration between the city and the state.

The hope, he said, is that the end result will bring people into downtown Lorain. “As one of the pieces of the puzzle for economic development, arts are integral,” Gilchrist said. “The more people you have coming to your city to admire and participate in the arts, the more people you’ll have wanting to become a part of it.”

Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.

 

 

 

 


Filed by Stephen Szucs | The Chronicle-Telegram July 23rd, 2008 in Local and State.

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