It was Hillary Rodham Clinton who said it takes a village to raise a child. It's also true — it takes a village to rescue a historic building.
It's been a long time coming, but the interior of the Litchfield Opera House is nearing completion.
It's almost hard to believe how close the 121-year-old downtown Litchfield building came to the wrecking ball. In 2003 and 2007, the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota named it to its list of Minnesota's 10 most endangered historic properties. Connie Lies said the City Council voted seven times to take it down, but for one reason or another it never happened. As a result, the newly formed Greater Litchfield Opera House Association was able to purchase it for $1 on Jan. 4, 2008.
Lies, former GLOHA board member and now facilities and event coordinator, said she can hardly believe it.
If you haven't visited in a while, and most of us haven't due to the COVID-19 pandemic, changes have been happening. Check out the new chandeliers in the lobby, the new paint — blue and pink — is original to the building. How about the new catering area next to the kitchen? It's near a side door for easy access to the street.
New stage, sound and lighting enhancement equipment are coming. This includes an iPad to run stage lights and sound remotely, wireless microphones and moveable spotlights. The Opera House's original floor has been restored. The HVAC system has been upgraded with air conditioning. There's new electrical, plus new bathrooms that meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. The list goes on and on.
There are two rooms on the second floor that were roughly finished for performer dressing rooms. Lies' husband, Don, and board members Kevin Hovey and Art Ellson, finished one of them during the shutdown. Remarkably, there's no storage in the Opera House. Lies said if someone wants to bring in their own tables and chairs for an event, they need to provide a covered trailer to store the building's equipment. One of the rooms is now designed as storage for decorations, table cloths and things such as that. The other will become the new sound and light equipment storage area.
That said, there's more to come. Lies said a recent $100,000 Legacy grant from the state's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund will be used to rebuild the balcony staircases in the lobby. It will also help restore the balcony area with new floors, new safety rails and rebuild the risers for improved sight lines. When windows were installed, the woodwork wasn't finished, so that's on the list, plus baseboards. There's also work in the basement that needs to be done.
Currently, the stage is made up of the original boards and the ceiling from the old city administrator's office (the Opera House served as Litchfield City Hall for many years). This area will be rebuilt to better accommodate theater needs by reducing echoes from the stage floor. That's going to change with an improved thrust stage.
"Currently there are no stage curtains," Lies said. "When Litchfield High School remodeled and removed their theater, they offered to let the Opera House salvage materials we could use. We were able to salvage the curtain pull system and the stage curtain, which will be repurposed at a later date, some lights and other equipment. Much appreciation to Litchfield School District 465 for this generous gift."
Plans also call for replacing all the draperies in the building. This project is outside of the Legacy grant and Lies estimated it will cost about $30,000 to have custom drapes made, so a fund has been started.
LENDING A HELPING HAND
The success of GLOHA is due to a combination of passionate members, willing volunteers, in-kind donations and support from politicians such as Rep. Dean Urdahl, who was instrumental in securing $100,000 from the 2018 state bonding bill for Opera House restoration. The group also has received several additional Legacy grants including the recent $100,000, which will be used for the latest phase of novation/restoration, and grants from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, as well as others.
Beyond grants, the association supports itself with memberships, events and rentals. Lies said the group is frugal and uses its resources carefully. So far, they make every effort to plow everything back into the building. Rentals pay for heat and lights. Memberships pay for taxes, insurance and needed renovations.
Recently an endowment fund was established with Thrivent to ensure long-term maintenance of the building.
UPCOMING ENTERTAINMENT
Like many businesses and nonprofits, last year's shutdown, cost GLOHA money — $26,000 to be exact. That's a lot for a small nonprofit. Things, however, are looking up. The Opera House began in-person events earlier this year. As of press time, Lies said she has one weekend open between now and Christmas. Otherwise, it's booked. That's good news.
There's also good news if you like entertainment. October is a busy month with rehearsals for the upcoming production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" plus concerts by:
- Swinging Country Band 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2. Admission is $15 at the door. Expect to hear the music of Kitty Wells and other Grand Ole Opry performers.
- Abby Johnson, opera singer, will perform her favorite arias 7-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9. Admission is $7 at the door.
- Kingery Family is performing gospel and bluegrass music, 7-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct 14. The concert is a benefit for the Meeker County Food Shelf, so it's free but monetary donations to the food shelf are encouraged. This event is co-sponsored by Paul White. Supplemental funds have been applied for through a Thrivent Action Team.
- Terry Shaw, Litchfield native, will entertain with his crowd-pleasing blend of local stories and songs 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23. Admission is $8 at the door.
Looking back, Lies said the Opera House's most successful event was the Shaw Allen Shaw Reunion at the Meeker County Fairgrounds. Their second most successful show was a Beatles tribute event, which filled the Opera House and overflowed into the parking lot.
Music performances are a top draw. One of the reasons may be the Opera House acoustics. Thanks to a grant from the Works Progress Administration, the building was gutted and repurposed into a community center during the 1930s. At the time, the ceiling was lined with Nu-Wood ceiling panels.
"It changed the acoustics," Lies said. "It has excellent acoustics, some of the best in the state."
While the acoustics may have stayed the same, everything else has improved. The interior will need to be completed by 2023, because that's when the Legacy grant expires. Next up after that is exterior work. With a historic building, the work is never ending, but Lies said it's worth it to save a piece of Litchfield history.
