10 Tips for

RESTORING HISTORIC THEATERS

1. Set concrete goals.Assemble all relevant community, program, historical, and site documentation. Study theater business and design principles. Evaluate the demand for the theater, as well as its proposed business models. Take advantage of information from the League of Historic American Theatres (LHAT) and other professional resources for guidance.

2. Consult the community.Interview key stakeholders to figure out the community’s perceived needs, proposed mission and programs, market conditions, and the facility’s suitability. Once you know how viable the project is, you can justify further planning.

3. Stabilize and secure the site.Consult with a preservation theater architect and your state historic preservation officer (SHPO) to help determine the site’s historic significance, integrity, and interim stabilization. Do your best to negotiate access, site security, stabilization, and first right of refusal to purchase.

4. Plan out your finances.How much will it cost? Ballpark the potential scale and scope of the project (and don’t publicize it). Extrapolate a planning budget from there. Start identifying possible sources of funding for your project planning.

5. Develop a project management plan.Robust plans encompass the project’s goals, respond to community needs, and map out implementation. It’s important to study, re-plan, and document the project management process. You can initiate this with a feasibility study.

6. Implement your plan.Confirm your financing is in place to guarantee fees, salaries, and initial project costs. Recruit a board chairperson, capital campaign chair, experienced executive director, technical director, project manager, and other essential positions.

7. Contract project consultants.The architectural design principal should have specific training and experience in theater design and restoration. The principal should then coordinate the engineering consultants, technical theater consultants, restoration consultants, and construction management (they can be selected with owner input).

8. Look for comprehensive services.Seek out firms that provide the following preservation architectural services: site research, investigation, and analysis; design development; construction documents; bidding, negotiations, and construction contracts; and construction and contract administration.

9. Start up your business.Though construction might still be in full swing, you’ll need to activate your business model. In advance of opening, book your programs, solicit sponsors, and raise funds. Recruit and train your staff. Plan your opening week events. Figure out your furniture, equipment, signage, and other inventory.

10. Market your project effectively.Before the curtain rises, establish a distinctive position for your theater. What are the values that will reflect future programming and guide branding? What kind of service and hospitality will it offer? Develop audience engagement strategies to build your membership, donor base, and audience loyalty.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America’s historic places. Preservation Tips & Tools helps others do the same in their own communities.

For more information, visit SavingPlaces.org.

Shannon O’Toole/Flickr/CC BY-ND-NC-2.0; Kymberly Janisch/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND-2.0; Thomas Hawk/Flickr/CC BY-NC-2.0; Kymberly Janisch/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND-2.0; Bahman Farzad/Flickr/CC BY-2.0; Kymberly Janisch/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND-2.0; Grant Hutchinson/Flickr/CC-BY-NC-2.0; Shannon O’Toole/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND-2.0; Timothy Neesam/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND-2.0; Anne Marie Peterson/Flickr/CC BY-SA-2.0; Matthew/Flickr/CC BY-2.0.

Adapted from the League of Historic American Theaters Rescue-Rehab manual. Information courtesy of Janis A. Barlow & Associates.