PROGRESS: Akron Opera House continues raising funds for restoration

AKRON, Iowa — For LeAnne Philips and her fellow members of the Akron Opera House Board, the name of the game right now is fundraising. 

Since the fall, the board has been introducing a plan to the community to restore the 118-year-old building last updated during the Richard Nixon administration. With that has come pitches to donate.

"We've gotten contributions and pledges of about 287,000 of our 1.5 million. So we're not quite there," Philips said. "Obviously, a really, really good start that we're excited about because that gives us the funds we need to do a roof replacement this spring and then we're getting some bids on some of the exterior windows. That we can hopefully do this year. And then, after that, everything has to happen all at once."

Philips, who has been on the board for about five years, said the first goal for the group was to secure the exterior of the two-story brick building which was gifted by the American Life Insurance Company of Des Moines and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

"That allows us to make sure the building is secure and in good shape for everything we want to do on the inside," she said.

On the inside, Philips said the board wants to restore the actual theater so it can continue to be used for performing arts, while making the space more accessible, and then renovate other areas of the building to make it more communal. 

"The plan to renovate the ground level space into a community gathering space and event space will be terrific, not just for the Opera House, but for other organizations to have community events there. And it'll be a great asset to our small community when it’s finished," Philips said. "But then, like I said, raising funds in any community, especially a small community can be a challenge."

Philips said the restoration will include adding an elevator (while subtracting some stairs), restrooms and a catering kitchen. "It's exciting but it also will be relying on our architects and contractors to make sure that everything works the way we hoped it does."

The last restoration came in 1970. Richard Jacobs, an Akron school drama instructor, worked with students and other locals to revitalize the opera house after decades of disuse. Over the span of about a year, Jacobs' group brought the space back to life. They cleaned, painted, plastered and installed seats repurposed from Sioux City's Hollywood Theater. 

"And since then (it) has really been kept alive by volunteers here in our community," Philips said. "And it's such a great resource to have in our community and we want to make sure we can restore it and have it available in an even better and more accessible format for generations to come."

Along with community fundraising, Philips said the Akron Opera House Board is also looking at regional organizations with grants for performing arts groups and state level grants. 

"Some of those we have to show local fundraising for first before we're eligible to apply for those. So those we’ll be applying for probably later this year," she said.

Philips anticipates fundraising through 2024 and possibly into 2025. She said the hope is to be far enough along in the middle of 2025 that the board can look for contractors. When every last bit of work is done, she said it'll be a magnet of sorts.

"Right now, when we do shows, we bring folks in from throughout the Siouxland area not only to see shows and participate in events at the Opera House but they also come and they shop and they visit our restaurants and things like that," Philips said. "So if we can have more events, and are able to do them year-round, then also have the facility available for event rentals, that means not only these great things for the Opera House and people who attend events there but also for our whole community and businesses."

In the meantime, the shows still have to go on. Next up? Performances of the Tony Award-winning "Jersey Boys" from April 11 to April 13.