Work began this last weekend to restore the old Fulton Theatre building in downtown Fulton.
The Brick District voted last month to take over the restoration of the theater on Court Street and work started Saturday, Jan. 31.
Tom Riley, president of the Brick District board, described the vacant theater as a "detriment to downtown development" but added that it could become downtown's biggest asset.
"There are some really nice places to eat and places to shop downtown, but there aren't as many things where there is really something fun to do downtown," Riley said.
The Brick District's long-term strategic plan, Riley said, has been to increase opportunities for activities downtown. That goal is what led the Brick District to take on the venture of the Art House art gallery on Court Street.
"We wanted to tackle that. The Art House seemed like a more tangible project... We always knew that if it worked, we might try to apply some of the concepts and have some of the same people working on the theater."
The Callaway Arts Council (CAC) formed about a decade ago in an attempt to raise funds to renovate the old theater building. About five years ago, according to the Brick District's website, the majority of the CAC Board of Directors resigned, leaving the CAC and theater project to Dale Lewis and David McDaniel. McDaniel said the CAC had been in debt. After getting the organization out of debt, McDaniel said they began fundraising efforts. However, he said, the theater deserved more than the fundraising they were able to do.
"We were not having the response raising the money that the project deserved," McDaniel said. "And we felt like the members of the Brick District would be a lot more successful at fundraising than we were and so it was the best thing to do for the project."
The CAC board agreed to resign and appointed Brick District nominees to take their place on the board. Additionally, the board passed on what money it had from fundraising efforts to the new directors so that restoration could start.
The new board of directors renamed the CAC to the Brick District Playhouse and will continue to be dedicated to the restoration and use of the old Fulton Theatre.
Riley said the Brick District plans to restore the facility and get the theater started. Then, eventually the board will let the theater spin off on its own, which is why it will continue to have its own board of directors separate from the Brick District.
Riley said the board is using CAC's funds to start demolition on the inside of the building, get the theater cleaned up, re-lit and work on the building's "curb appeal."
Riley said volunteers sorted through props and materials in the theater last weekend. Glove Con General Contractors started demolishing inner walls not original to the building on Monday.
The larger restoration project, Riley said, could go on for a couple of years. The new board is working on applying for tax credits and grants.
"Rather than waiting for some big funding windfall to come in that would be a couple hundred thousand and be a home run, we are playing small ball," Riley said. "The whole time we are waiting for a big funding opportunity to come around, we are going to continue to try to use what we do have which is a lot of volunteers, a lot of ideas, a lot of energy and a little bit of money and continue incrementally to make changes."
Riley said the new board will continue to pursue larger fundraising opportunities. He said he is hoping the theater could be operational in a year or two.
The board would like to see the theater once again hold theatrical performances as well as concerts and old movies.
"We would like to have it be an active venue," Riley said. "We think that's going to be a big driver to help contribute to the economic growth in downtown."
McDaniel said the CAC board's motivation in restoring the theater was to add more entertainment to downtown Fulton.
"With it restored, it could be a huge drawing card for the downtown area," McDaniel said. "When it was a theater operating as a theater it used to bring a lot of people into downtown Fulton."
The previous CAC board discussed passing on the project to the Brick District with the organization's board last spring. The Brick District board held off at first so they could apply for a grant. Once they didn't get the grant they applied for in the fall, Riley said the board regrouped to see how it wanted to approach the theater project.
"It became clear that we had to act now or I don't think the building could be saved," Riley said.