Photo: Courtesy of Illuminate Arts Co
ATTLEBORO, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A local arts company is working to turn the lights back on at the century-old Union Theater in downtown Attleboro.
Jennifer Keating, the executive director of Illuminate Arts, told WBZ NewsRadio that the theater used to be a thriving gathering space before it was abandoned.
The building was constructed in 1925 to be a warehouse but was converted into a theater in 1928, hosting Vaudeville acts until it was converted into a cinema, opening and closing off and on until it shuttered about 20 years ago.
Behind the main stage, the original stage ropes, lights, and metal stairs to hold oncoming actors are still there, somewhat to Keating's disbelief. They weren't torn down despite many different iterations of the building after its original Vaudeville use.
Keating said the theater was an important third space for the Attleboro community throughout the generations.
“This building wasn’t just a movie theater,” she said. "It was a place where people came...they just wanted to be here."
The team at Illuminate Arts is trying to bring life back onto that stage with the Union Theater Revival campaign, which already raised close to $800,000. Since beginning the campaign two years ago, construction costs have risen, so the campaign said they would need about $500,000 more to reopen the theater.
But once the money is in hand, Keating said the turnaround would probably be quite rapid. She estimates it would only take about four months to open the theater once construction begins. That's thanks largely to the good condition the building has been kept in by its current owners, Jim and Ann Friedman.
"They basically bought the building to save it. It was starting to deteriorate... And they wanted to keep her alive," she said. That sale went through more than 20 years ago, and the Friedmans have kept the closed theater on life support ever since.
The campaign said the reopening will bring new life and inspiration to the performing arts community, and that people are lining up for a new theater in Attleboro.
“As soon as we open the doors, we will already have [theater] groups that want to use the space,” Keating said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.
