QUINCY, Ill. — The Washington Theater is a time capsule of happy memories for Brian Heinze.
As a kid in the 1970s, he'd go to the theater often with his aunt to catch a movie. Heinze remembers the thick smell of buttered popcorn wafting throughout the theater, the big red movie chairs and a longing to sit in the balcony.
“No other theater in town had a balcony, especially one like that,” Heinze said. “[I was] always hoping the balcony's open, [but] there's that dang rope with the balcony closed sign on it every single time.”
His childhood wish came true more than three decades after the theater closed its doors when he became the president of the Friends of the Washington Theater Commission. In 2003, the commission was formed to restore the historic theater. It’s an effort that’s still ongoing and will take millions of dollars.
“This was a large venue and a main event and a social aspect in the city of Quincy, and we just want to bring that back in a different way," Heinze said.
The Washington Theater got its start as a vaudeville venue on June 19, 1924. Opening day saw more than 5,000 patrons. The theater was later sold to Chicago businessmen who added silent films to its roster. By 1929, the venue became the first place to show a “talking movie” in Quincy.
In that time, the Washington Theater saw many budding romances, including Dan and Jeri Conboy. April 14, 1974, marked the beginning of their nearly 50-year love story.
“I got up the nerve to ask her out for a date,” Dan Conboy said.
Jeri agreed. They saw Robert Redford and Paul Newman’s "The Sting." Jeri remembers how captivating the theater was at the time.
"The theater was just cavernous,” Jeri Conboy said. “It just seemed so huge, and the seats were red velvet. Nice and soft and cushiony. They seemed like it at the time. It was just a wonderful place to just sort of settle back in your seat in the dark and watch a movie."
Final curtain call
The theater was sold again to Kerasotes Theaters in 1971 before closing its doors for good in 1982. The company donated the theater to the City of Quincy. In 1987, SunWest Corp. acquired the theater from the city. Before the city would regain ownership in 2000, the venue had started to decay from neglect, time and water damage to the roof.
“Back when the theater closed in 1982, the city gave it to a profit organization, and part of the agreement was that they were supposed to maintain the building,” said Jim Lawrence, vice president of the commission. “Well, as you can see, that didn’t happen and the roof started to leak and really caused quite a bit of damage to the architecture.”
The venue is open to the public for fundraising events, but the balcony is still closed off as a safety precaution. The flooring needs repairs, and there’s a large hole in the ceiling caused by the water damage. The commission has collected more than $750,000 in grants and private donations. Heinze said some of that money has been put toward major roof repairs.
“If you start working and doing stuff inside and making everything look pretty, but your roof isn't fixed and your foundation isn't stable … you're just going to have damage,” Heinze said. “Why damage something that you've done? So, we had to do that stuff behind the scenes before we could do anything else.”
Heinze did clarify that not a single tax dollar has gone toward restoration efforts.
The commission was able to recover a treasure trove of original pieces of the theater from different eras of its own history. The original stained-glass windows, hardwood chairs and light board and panel were still in good shape. The projection booth is still solid, minus some chipped paint and a needed facelift.
Intricate architectural details are scattered throughout the auditorium. The venue’s basement still holds the dressing rooms from its vaudeville days. The blower system is the only thing that remains from the original pipe organ. Heinze hopes that in a not-so-distant future when the theater is restored, it will include an in-house museum featuring these historic components.
A new chapter
The Washington Theater sits in the heart of Quincy’s downtown known as the District. A 2006 feasibility study found that a fully up and running Washington Theater could bring in $4 million annually. In today’s money, it’s a little more than $6 million.
The commission plans to transform the theater into a multipurpose venue fit for concerts, plays, receptions, comedy acts and other uses. Heinze said the restoration will take time and money to the tune of $10 million to $12 million for the first phase.
“Not saying we're going to turn down somebody if they come up and say, ‘you know what, I've got a couple million dollars and I'd love to,’” Heinze said. “But we've got to be realistic. The chances of that happening are slim. Not impossible, but we just need the general public's support.”
The commission reached out to Maggie Strong, the owner of Strong Consulting, to survey residents about how they feel about the theater and what their hopes for its future are; 662 people responded to the public survey. The bulk of respondents agreed that it is important to preserve a historic venue. But the lack of communication from the commission has led to some frustration.
“We also heard that people are wondering what has been going on for the last 20 or so years,” Strong said. “And so, we know that we have work to do as far as communication and sort of sparking the next steps and getting people excited and engaged in what could be and making things happen."
There was also some pushback as to whether Quincy needed another event space. There are roughly 20 others in the area. Strong said that while that may be true, some of those venues have certain limitations. Similarly sized event spaces to the Washington Theater are in school buildings.
“You can't really offer alcohol in those spaces, and a lot of people would like to have a drink when they're watching a concert or being involved there,” Strong said. “The architecture you can't re-create. You can't re-create that location. You can't change where it is. And that location in the heart of our downtown is just a huge asset."
Then there’s an entire generation of residents who have no personal connection to the theater. Michael Allen, a senior lecturer of architecture at Washington University, said nostalgia isn’t enough to get community buy-in on preservation efforts.
“You can't rely on several generations who have an experience with a past cycle,” Allen said. “You have to create a really new story around the building that captures everyone."
He said it is possible to get a younger crowd invested in preserving historic places. It just takes time and dedication.
"I think younger people are very responsive to restaurants and concert venues that are in historic buildings,” Allen said. “Buildings they may not know anything about. They don't daydream about what happened 20 years ago. They're enjoying what's happening there now.”
Heinze said they still need more funding to get the ball rolling with the first phase of restoration, which will include safety measures, compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, fire suppression, a sprinkler system, a new lobby, heating, air conditioning, electrical plumbing, lighting and restrooms.
The second phase will focus on repairs to the balcony. Heinze expects it will take 5 to 10 years before the theater is fully operational.
