September 2011

Historic Theater Grants Announced
By Carole Moore, Tax & Grants Coordinator

The Springer Opera House, built in 1871 and located in downtown Columbus, received a $1,715 matching grant to produce a new heritage tourism brochure.  It was saved from demolition in 1964 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975.
 

As HPD staff have traveled the state throughout the years, we have noticed many historic theaters still standing on Georgia's main streets.  These community landmarks, mostly built in the 1930s and 1940s as movie theaters, are remnants of a bygone era when townspeople went downtown to see the Saturday afternoon matinee feature film. A few were late 19th century/early 20th century opera houses or performing arts theaters.  Unfortunately, many of these theaters have sat silent and empty for decades.  In recent years, however, many communities, recognizing the treasures within their midst, have begun to rehabilitate and re-open the doors of these theaters.  Many continue to function as theaters, such as the Tybee Theater on Tybee Island, the Gem Theatre in Calhoun, or the Douglas Theater in Macon, while others have been adaptively and creatively re-used, such as the Royal Theater in Hogansville, now a city hall.

In recognition of and support for Georgia’s many historic theaters, the Historic Preservation Division, the Tourism Division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), and the Fox Theatre Institute have joined forces to offer a new, one-time grant program for the state’s historic theaters.  Entitled the Historic Theater Heritage Tourism Grant Program, the partnership was created in response to the increasing interest Georgians have in the preservation and promotion of historic theaters located within their communities. The grant program is funded by GDEcD and administered by HPD, with technical support provided by the Fox Theatre Institute.

Six grants, totaling $10,000, were awarded in June for heritage tourism theater projects located throughout the state. The six award recipients are:

- The Statesboro Arts Council - $2,500 for a puppet show history of Bulloch County at the Averitt Center for the Arts.
- The President Theatre, Inc. - $2,000 for a brochure, signage and marketing program to promote the theater.
- The City of Toccoa - $2,000 to produce a historic structures report for the Schaefer Center (formerly the Ritz Theater).
- The Springer Opera House Arts Association, Inc. - $1,715 to produce a tourism brochure for the opera house.
- The Theatre Guild Valdosta - $960 to produce a brochure and presentation on the history of the Dosta Theater.
- The Washington Little Theater, Inc. - $825 to produce a promotional brochure and upgrade the theater’s website. 

HPD Director David Crass said, "This 50%/50% matching grant program was created by the three organizations to promote and raise awareness of Georgia’s historic theaters through heritage tourism.  Even though these are modest 'seed' grants and non-bricks and mortar, their ripple effect often spurs other preservation/tourism projects at the theater, as well as at other historic resources within the community."

GDEcD’s Tourism Product Development Director Bruce Green said, "Georgia's historic theaters represent one of the more significant landmarks within a community.  We are pleased to have been able to offer this funding, thereby providing the 'seed' capital to assess and promote the cultural infrastructure found in our local communities." Fox Theatre Institute Director of Restoration Molly Fortune said, "This grant program reinforces our mission to assist historic theaters throughout Georgia."