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| Orpheum Receives Commitment from Galesburg Downtown Council |
The Orpheum Theatre has announced that the Galesburg Downtown Council unanimously approved a $30,000 commitment to the theater's on-going capital improvement efforts. The Downtown Council joins the City of Galesburg, Knox County, Carl Sandburg College and Galesburg Community Foundation who collectively pledged $250,000 to the effort.
"Combining the quarter of a million dollars committed in 2009, the Downtown Council's pledge (Wednesday) and nearly $20,000 in individual and small business pledges received since November, the Orpheum Theatre is within a few hundred dollars of crossing the $300,000 mark," said Orpheum president Kate Francis, in a news release prepared by the theatre.
In 2009, the Orpheum Theatre applied for a federal "Save America's Treasures" grant of $500,000 which was unsuccessful. READ MORE HERE. The federal grant required organizations to match any grant award.
"It's heartening to know that had the Orpheum Theatre received the grant that the Galesburg community would so readily rise to the matching grant challenge," Francis said in the news release. "And even though the Orpheum did not receive the federal grant, these local charitable commitments provide substantial funding to address the critical heating, cooling and facade issues the theater continues to face."
"The Orpheum Theatre's uniqueness and prominence in our community is unparalleled," said Galesburg Downtown Council president Carla Markwart in the Orpheum's news release. "Not only is it a historical building and a physical connection to the community's collective past, but it is a prime example of how historic preservation can live and function in the modern world. In spite of its facility challenges, the Orpheum Theatre continues to increase the number of cultural and entertainment activities it offers; and that increased activity in turn benefits all downtown businesses."
Francis said that the Downtown Council did not restrict its contribution beyond requiring that the funds not be used to cover operating expenses. She also said that since the $270,000 committed by other organizations and individuals would likely cover the heating and cooling replacement costs, she would recommend to the Civic Center Authority board that the Downtown Council's contribution be dedicated to furthering the Council's mission -- to restore and repair the theater's ornate unique and historic Second French Empire facade.
(From an Orpheum Theatre News Release)
(WGIL News File Photo) |
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