Damaged Texas Theater Reopens
By Jimmy Scarano | From Preservation | May 1, 2007
A town of 2,000 raised the money to repair its 1875 playhouse.
Credit: Preservation Texas
Three years ago, winds blew in the side wall of a National Register-listed landmark in tiny Jefferson, Tex., forcing it to close. Now, after the collaborative efforts of a small community and the Texas Historical Commission (THC) and National Trust's Southwest Office, the Greek revival structure is revamped, renovated, and ready for public use.
The Old Synagogue Playhouse, which was originally built in 1875, will officially reopen tomorrow after its restoration as a fine-arts center.
"It was quite an endeavor," says Mary Keasler, president of the Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club, the nonprofit that owns the playhouse along with the adjoining Ruth Lester Memorial. "We've squeezed every dollar."
Money was an issue throughout the restoration process, as Jefferson is in one of the state's poorest counties. The initial estimates to repair the building were $500,000, according to Karen Gleason, a Garden Club member who was in charge of the restoration project as chairman of the Ruth Lester Memorial and Old Synagogue Playhouse. Even though the playhouse was on the 2005 list of "Texas' Most Endangered Historic Places," it was so dilapidated and the resources were so minimal that it was difficult get any money for the cause.
"The local foundations didn't think it could be saved and didn't want to invest in a lost cause," Gleason says.
The National Trust and the Texas Historical Commission tried to do their part. After the storm, the Trust sent an intervention engineer from Dallas to Jefferson and paid to set up a steel pipe that kept the structure from sinking. The pipe was in place for a year while Gleason and the commission tried to raise money to begin exterior repairs. The commission gave Gleason $18,000 in planning grants and helped her find foundations and resources that would be helpful, but the group couldn't raise $500,000.
"They did everything they could do; we just came up short," Gleason says.
Just when it seemed that the house was done for, a local constructionist told Gleason that he might be able to fix the exterior. He gave her his estimate, which Gleason prefers to keep private, and the affordable price brought her to tears, she says. When the THC came by to see it, "they were very impressed," she says. With the exterior repaired, money started to come in from foundations. "Now people thought it was capable of being saved," Gleason says.
Two local foundations made donations of $50,000 and $20,000, and as more money came in from the community, fundraisers, and other foundations, the old playhouse soon had 90 new theater seats, new foundation beams, a new paint job, air conditioning, and countless other amenities.
"Success has a lot to do with demographics and the resources that you have," Gleason says. "We are a poor community but are very historically significant in the state, and we appreciate everything everybody did."
In the 1800s Jefferson was a thriving steamboat trade post and one of the biggest cities in Texas, and today it features more than 30 structures with state historical medallions.
After the May 2 reopening, there will be a grand opening at the playhouse in June to say thank you to all of the project's donors. "It means so much to a town of 2,000 people," Gleason says.
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