Owners David Toland and Jim Smith opened up the Iola Theatre for a public tour and to hear guest speaker, Dick Houston, Thursday night.
Toland, 36, and Smith, 68, are renovating the theater, 203 S. Washington, to return it to its original 1930s art deco style. The theater was built in 1931 and originally had a seating capacity for 980.
Toland said they want to make the theater into a not-for-profit where they can host multiple events. He wants it to be a multipurpose venue for movies, live music and high school reunions.
“The movies we’d show would be like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ during Christmas,” Toland said. “They’re going to be seasonal.”
Toland and Smith bought the theater about a year and a half ago to save it from being torn down.
The tour of the theater showed that the renovation is in its beginning phases. Torn down walls inside the main auditorium show original murals from the theaters inception that hasn’t been seen in 40 years.
Toland described the process, “like peeling an onion.” Toland and Smith are discovering something new behind every wall torn down.
“Over the years it was easier to cover up problems than fix them,” Toland said.
Toland said the first major project that they plan on doing is recreating the marquee. That will cost $35,000.
Dick Houston, the guest speaker and native of Ashtabula, Ohio, happened to be in town for the Safari Film Festival at the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum in Chanute. As it turns out, Houston has had experience with theater renovation in Ohio. Houston went on the tour and then spoke about film preservation.
Jackie Borgeson, curator of the Safari Museum, is happy to see Iola trying to save its theater.
“I’m really proud of Iola, that how you guys are keeping your (theater) since Chanute’s was grand,” Borgeson said. “It’s a shame that it’s just a parking lot now.”
There is still plenty of work to be done at the theater. However, Houston thinks that having the theater is the much better option than what could have happened.
“Imagine what this place will look like when it’s done,” Houston said. “Now, imagine what it would look like if it were gone.”
Houston spoke about how renovated theaters in Cleveland, Ohio, revitalized that part of the city, bringing restaurants and other entertainment to the area.
