Prairie Preservation Guild, LTD
Preservation of the 1940 Art Moderne movie theatreFowler, Indiana
Fowler, Indiana is a town of 2,413 people located in Benton County in rural Northwest Indiana. Fowler is an agricultural community known for its rich fertile soil that produces record crops of corn and soybeans every year. The nearest large city is Lafayette, IN located approximately 30 miles away. The economy is largely agricultural; however, 30 percent of the local work force commutes to jobs outside Benton County.
Fowler is Benton County's county seat and was once a thriving town that supported the needs of the local farming community. There were many established businesses in town lining the main street. More recently, the Fowler downtown has experienced a decline in store ownership and business losses as the population of Benton County has steadily decreased from almost 12,000 in 1960 to 9,200 in 2001. There are several empty buildings downtown, and many of the remaining structures are in need of costly repairs to preserve the historic character they bring to the town.
Over the last several years, the Town of Fowler has been actively working to revitalize its business corridors in an effort to reverse this trend of declining economic viability. With the approval of the town, a volunteer group of concerned citizens was formed to reverse this decline and correct the blighted conditions in the downtown area. The volunteers concentrated their efforts on beautification, self-promotion, and economic restructuring of the town as they joined the Indiana Main Street organization. This group contracted with the School of Architecture and Landscape Design at Ball State to make suggestions about how the appearance of the downtown could be improved by doing relatively low cost improvements to the buildings. More recently, an engineering study has been completed to begin construction of a new streetscape. It is hoped that by improving the aesthetics and increasing the traffic in the downtown area, more people will move to Fowler while attracting and retaining more business investment.
One business that has remained open in Fowler is the Fowler Theatre. The last remaining local movie theater within a 30-mile radius, it has been operating since its construction in 1940. When it was built, the Fowler Theatre was a grand state-of-the-art facility with grandiose decorating and all the technological marvels of the time. It was one of the most ornate and impressive theaters in the region (see 1940 news article in the History section of this website). In fact, the Fowler Theatre was one of only 5 movie theaters in the country to premier Gone with the Wind!
At lot has changed at the Fowler Theatre over its 60-year history. As a result of the changing farm economy and the advent of the large movie complexes in Lafayette, fewer people stayed in Fowler to watch movies at the local theater. Consequently, the Fowler Theatre's past grandeur has not been maintained by its owners as profits declined. The building continued to deteriorate as the roof developed leaks. Finally, very few local people would attend a movie there due to unsafe and moldy conditions inside. The business was failing and the owner could not afford to make the needed repairs to increase his clientele. It was at this point that the downtown revitalization group identified this business as in imminent danger of closure and further contributing to the overall decline of the town.
The situation became more desperate when, in the spring of 2001, movies were no longer being shown, and it was discovered that the owner was planning to sell the remaining architecturally interesting pieces from the inside of the theatre as well as the original marquee to convert the theater into a warehouse. Not wanting to see this happen, Karen Moyars and several other volunteers formed The Prairie Preservation Guild, a not-for-profit group dedicated to rescuing the historical theater and keeping low cost entertainment available in our community. Karen had been involved with the downtown revitalization group, but it was decided that the purchase, restoration, and operation of the theater would best be handled by a group dedicated to this project alone.
The Fowler Theatre was purchased by the Prairie Preservation Guild for $30,000.00. Funding was obtained from the Indiana Historic Landmarks Foundation in the form of a $2,000.00 grant and a $60,000.00 line of credit to purchase and stabilize the building as the structure was deemed to be an excellent example of art moderne architecture worthy of being preserved. The group was to use the money to clean up the building and repair the roof. A local bank also has offered to help with financing.
Once the building was rescued, the daunting task of cleaning, repairing, and reopening the theatre was begun by some very hard-working and dedicated volunteers. Members of the Prairie Preservation Guild dug in and started cleaning, painting, upgrading the electrical wiring, servicing the heating and cooling systems, and performing repairs in the projection room. An environmental remediation firm was hired to remove the black mold that had been growing unchecked on the theatre walls and ceiling due to the water damage that had occurred over the years. This mold was a health risk and was the primary reason that local residents seldom entered the theatre in recent years. The concession area and rest rooms were sanitized and updated with new appliances to meet Board of Health requirements. New carpet was installed in the lobby and auditorium.
The Fowler Theatre reopened in December 2001 with a free movie for Christmas. Since that time, movies have been shown every weekend. Remarkably, the Prairie Preservation Guild has operated the Fowler Theatre entirely with volunteers. No one has received a salary to date. There is a sign-up sheet located in the lobby of the theater where individuals, families, and community groups add their names to the list of those willing to donate their time to sell tickets, operate the concession stand, run the projector, and clean up after the show. Every week, a group of people is contacted to take charge of the shows for the weekend. Members of the Prairie Preservation Guild have taken on this logistical challenge and have never failed to show a movie for lack of volunteers.
The cost of the show has been kept low because a major goal of the group was to provide entertainment to the community that would be affordable to families. The cost of an adult ticket is $5.00 and for children under 13 is $3.00. This is significantly less than the larger movie houses charge in Lafayette. The concession stand is also reasonably priced. Concessions range in price from $0.50 to $3.00. The theatre has also become a spot where parents can drop off their preteen and non-driving teenagers for a night away from their kids. A phone is available for children that need to call for their ride home after the movie. The community is responding by attending the films. Where the previous owner served about 50 people a weekend with three shows, the cleaned theatre consistently draws 30-115 people for each show and the 196 seats have been sold out twice. In addition to the regular movies, there have been 6 free shows offered this past year, so people who might not be able to afford to pay admission, have the opportunity to enjoy a movie several times a year. These movies are often sponsored by local businesses.
The economic benefits to the community are obvious. More people are spending money in Fowler as they stay in town for their entertainment rather than traveling outside the community. Local restaurants can also expect to increase business on the evenings that the movies are shown. The Prairie Preservation Guild also contributes funds to the local economy by purchasing cleaning supplies, hardware, appliances, audio supplies and parts, as well as miscellaneous items from local businesses as much as possible. In addition, movie passes have become popular as prizes in school, church and library fundraisers, and as gifts. All of this adds up to a positive effect in the overall revitalization efforts happening in the town.
Social needs of the community are being addressed by the Prairie Preservation Guild. Volunteering at the Fowler Theatre has become a social outlet. It takes approximately 5-8 people to staff the theater for each show. There are more than 250 individuals who have worked regularly at the theater and another 25-30 still waiting for an opening with still more signing up each weekend. All told, approximately 25-50% of our town's community has volunteered at least once to work in the theatre. Working at the theater has turned into an enjoyable time where volunteers can socialize while contributing to the community. The volunteers are of all ages. They include teenagers working toward community service for college scholarships, civic organizations, local police, politicians running for office, church groups, scouts earning service badges, Rotarians, Tri Kappa members, the Chamber of Commerce, town council members, and senior citizens. Senior citizens have begun to return to the theater that they remember from its earlier days.
Educational needs in the community are also being met by the Fowler Theatre. Local school and community groups frequently use the space for meetings. Last summer, the NICHES land preservation group held an informational meeting on prairie restoration that was attended by 126 people. The local Catholic elementary school has used a trip to the theatre as an incentive for the Accelerated Reader program, and one of the public elementary schools will do this in the spring of this year. Plans are ongoing at the present time to partner with Benton Central High School to show historical films on various topics to supplement social studies classes.
Cultural events are also offered at the Fowler Theatre. There has been a dance recital and a 50's Night fundraiser for a local church youth group with a showing of the movie, Grease. Once restored, the theater will be home to two theater groups, one for adults and one for children, as the Prairie Preservation Guild has recently become the parent group of the Benton Community Summer Theatre- a successful theatre troupe that currently presents one production a year at the county high school. There is a stage in the Fowler Theatre that is being restored to support this group as well as other local musical groups that may desire to hold special events.
The Fowler Theatre also will increase the awareness and appreciation for our historical heritage. The old downtown area is currently experiencing a renaissance lead by the Prairie Preservation Guild's rescue and restoration project. The importance and desirability of preserving our historical buildings is being demonstrated in a very visible way to our town's residents, business people, and local government. The fact that the project has been successful to date has bolstered the revitalization efforts tremendously, and more downtown business owners are interested in preserving their historical buildings instead of removing the architecturally significant features. The leadership of the Prairie Preservation Guild in this area cannot be overestimated.
The cost of this project is not insignificant and fund raising is a very important part of the Prairie Preservation Guild's focus. The attendance at the movies has been steadily increasing as community residents realize that the theater is clean and safe again, so the theater is supporting its everyday obligations. The bulk of the necessary equipment has already been purchased at this date, so the Guild is at a point where profits are being used to repay the loan to purchase and stabilize the building. The Fowler Theatre is receiving publicity in newspapers and periodicals that has resulted in donations from individuals as far away as California and South Carolina. In addition, the Guild is actively soliciting donations through memberships in the organization. Through these efforts, the Fowler Theatre is in a position to keep operating and be owned outright within the next several years.
Now that the Fowler Theatre has been rescued and operated successfully over the last year, the Prairie Preservation Guild is now planning an historical restoration in two phases. The first phase will include returning the outside facade to its former state. The facade contains a vintage ticket booth, unique art deco doors, outside poster cases, and a grand marquee. It's thought that by doing the outside first, the Prairie Preservation Guild will continue to jumpstart the downtown revitalization efforts and increase traffic in the downtown area. Estimates for this phase of restoration have come in at about $150,000. Once the outside of the building is restored, the inside will be done. Estimates have not been finalized for this phase of work at this time.
The goal of the group is to raise at least 30-50% of the money needed for the outside restoration in the next year in order to be eligible for historic restoration and community development grants. This will allow the Fowler Theatre to continue to operate and contribute to the overall economic revitalization so desperately needed in our small community and rural county.
