Delphi Preservation Society, Inc.
Facade improvement project brings renewed sense of place to Delphi.
In November 2007 the Delphi Preservation Society celebrated the Facade Restoration Project for the Assion-Ruffing City Hall and Opera House utilizing a Historic Preservation Fund grant for this National Register listed building owned by the Society. The facelift turned heads and got people in Delphi looking up with pride, then examining the fading appearances of other structures on the Square. The City Hall restoration became a catalyst encouraging property owners to utilize a new Facade Improvement Grant program offered by the City of Delphi and Delphi Main Street. More than twelve grants have now been awarded and several of Delphi's architectural gems have seen marked improvements. In 2010 the Delphi Courthouse Square Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places--an additional recognition of how special this community was, is, and will become!
Delphi's retail base had been in decline for decades. Plant closings sapped incomes and patrons away from local stores in the 1990s. With fewer than 3,000 residents in a county of just 20,000, Delphi does not have the population to support its retail base. However 350,000 people live within a 50-mile radius in cities like Lafayette and West Lafayette. To thrive, downtown Delphi must become a destination. Just ten blocks north of the Square, the Wabash & Erie Canal Park and Interpretive Center has become such an attraction, drawing thousands of visitors annually to its Interpretive Center and now for replica boat rides. Heritage and cultural tourism is the theme that will link the downtown with Canal Park. Revitalization efforts are underway in Delphi and the City Hall & Opera House are leading the charge!
Studies show that the arts are a strong economic rejuvenator even in periods of economic downturn. DPS is working to restore the Opera House in the Assion-Ruffing City Hall to create a community center and venue for arts and entertainment. The restored Opera House will draw thousands of people into the downtown each year not only to see the historic Opera House, but to attend theater events, concerts, ballroom dancing, classic films, lecture series, and much more. Its visitors will patronize art galleries, antique stores, fine dining establishments, coffee shops, bakeries and candy stores, book and gift shops - all of which can be a part of a revitalized retail environment in downtown Delphi. The Opera House is already taking center stage in this resurgence. Its three retail bays are occupied by upscale destination businesses--the Opera House Gallery of Contemporary Art, MarthaRose Gifts & Interiors, and Beyond My Garden Gate Tea Room.
Community support is growing for the Opera House Restoration. The building has won awards from the Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation for changing the face of the downtown. Delphi Rotary now sponsors an annual black-tie event to benefit the Opera House Restoration. A local merchant donates a diamond necklace grand prize for the Delphi Diamond Dash 5K Run/Walk for Preservation. Local professionals, businesses, and individuals are working to make the dream a reality!
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