Restored and Revitalized: Lights Glow Again at a Classic Cache County Theater

by Boyd P. Israelsen

Stepping carefully along the scaffold planking some 35 feet above the bare concrete floor of Logan's Capitol Theater, Kathryn Wanlass pauses to concentrate on the intricate plaster detail of the wall across the auditorium. Turning, she converses with the half-dozen other volunteers who have joined her. They reach a decision. A subdued dusty-rose tint should be used on one of the major architectural features, replacing the pearlescent highlight preferred by the painter. "People feel strongly about these things," offers Chuck James, the painter. "I've seen marriages threatened over color choices."

That scene from the summer of 1992 was one of thousands which led to the grand opening of the Ellen Eccles Theatre in January 1993. The theater was renamed for Ellen Stoddard Eccles in recognition of the anchor grant provided by the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation. Ellen Eccles was the wife of Utah industrialist David Eccles and a prominent citizen of Logan. The story of how the theater which bears her name was brought back from the past shows a convergence of opportunity,vision, perseverance and more than a little luck.

Historical Roots

With buildings as with people, Walt Whitman's statement rings true: "Tis not the present only, the past is also stored in you." Built in 1923 at a cost of about $250,000, the Capitol was ahead of its time; the builders reinforced the exterior walls and concrete balcony with steel. The well planned stage was capable of supporting vaudeville and traveling shows. Live performances shared the stage with films, the latter dominating through the 1930s and bringing in thousands of avid movie-goers until television emerged in the 1950s. The crowds waned and films shared the space with community productions for a time. Eventually the stage was sealed off to conserve heat and live productions ceased.

"Thousands of volunteer hours were donated. City, county, state and federal governments all helped financially, but over twothirds of the funds came from private sources."

In the late 1980s, Logan businessman Eugene Needham acquired title to some adjacent property and the theater came as part of the package. While Needham was pondering what to do with his cavernous white elephant, Michael Ballam came on stage, so to speak. Ballam, an operatic tenor and member of the music faculty at Utah State University, soon convinced Needham that it should become a public facility, if the city would go along.

Persuading the city was another matter. Newel Daines, then mayor of Logan, couldn't see the civic advantage. At one point, exasperated, he asked Ballam what part of "no" he didn't under-stand. Undaunted, Ballam persisted and finally, after getting the mayor inside the building, made him a convert. With Municipal Council support, the city agreed to a land trade with Needham and took title to the "Jewel of Cache Valley," faded and neglected though she was.

"The city also purchased with nontax funds two empty commercial properties fronting Main Street next to the Capitol," explains Daines. "Reconstruction began to convert this area to a cultural center and housing for the

Alliance for the Varied Arts, a local arts coordinator." A January 1990 fire destroyed the arts center but spared the theater, which suffered only minor damage inthe entrance area. "It was devastating at the time," says Daines, "but it gave us the opportunity to redesign the entirecomplex and integrate the new and the old portions."

Daines also cites the significant contribution made by Jonathan Bullen, a Logan businessman who had become involved in the project. "His efforts were really a major driving force, both in planning and in providing the initial major contribution to fund the arts complex (Bullen Center), which opened in February 1992."

The Restoration Campaign

The city recognized that restoring and running a theater were outside its normal operating arena and created a non-profit corporation, the Capitol Arts Alliance, in 1989. Holly Daines, board chair for the volunteer organization, explains, "The reasons the theater was worth restoring are found at the front of the auditorium. The fly loft, orchestra pit and proscenium (the arched wall at the front of the stage) are large enough to do full-scale opera. And that's the tough-est test of a theater." The new fly system can handle backdrop changes in seconds and allow complete set changes in less than an hour to do shows in repertory.

CAA adopted literally Winston Churchill's statement, "First we shape our buildings, then our buildings shape us." Logan architectural firm JHCH Architects was engaged to prepare the master plan and bid drawings. Project Architect Lanny Herron remembers the weekly project meetings. "Boyd Israelsen, a CAA boardmember, was project manager. Bill Sapp of USU worked with us as technical advisor, and construction superintendent Ken Norman of Gary L. Olsen Construction Company rounded out our project team."

A restoration project usually yields surprises, according to Herron. "This was no exception. Some of them posed problems and others opened up opportunities we took advantage of." Indeed, change orders added an extra 35 percent to the project's cost. "Looking back," says Sapp, "we would do very little differently than we did. Three years' operation of the theater shows that the great majority of our decisions were right."

John Emmett, who recently stepped down after six years as CAA board chairman, agrees. "It seemed at the time that we were making a lot of it up as we went along. We were either smart or lucky since it meets or exceeds our expectations in basically all areas."

Here an artist touches up the figure of Zeus near the ceiling of the theater's south wall.

Behind the Scenes

One of the major deficiencies of the old theater was its lack of stage access, with no way to get a truck in to unload a traveling show. "We solved this," says Sapp, "by buying an adjacent residence and moving it to another location. Then we put up a three-story annex building. This gave us two loading docks and a prop staging area just off-stage but acoustically isolated from the auditorium. We also gained dressing rooms, a costume shop and rehearsal space. A backstage extension gave us still more dressing rooms and utility areas."

A fully modern HVAC system with microprocessor control and modem access replaced the ancient, unreliable system. "The cooling system earned a Department of Energy conservation award," says Herron, the architect, smiling. "It runs cold water from a nearby irrigation canal through the heat exchanger. Bob McEntire, our mechanical engineer, thought that one up." He explains another feature also aimed at increasing patron comfort. "We made the seats wider and the rows farther apart, so the house capacity went from over 1,300 seats to 1,100. People like the extra space and good sightlines."

Bringing the stage magic to life requires a considerable amount of theater technology. Lighting, stage rigging and sound were all put in as completely new systems, according to Sapp.

The old wooden grid that supported the stage rigging was replaced with steel and a new counterweight fly system put in. "We couldn't afford all the line sets the system can handle," notes Sapp,"but with 39 we're about two-thirds full. And that's enough to handle several shows in repertory." Back-of-house speakers are fed through a phase-delay network to provide audio synchronization with sound arriving there from the main speakers at the side and top of the proscenium.

Restorative Work

Much of the theater's charm derives from its splendid decorative plaster interior. The original rose tones had faded and were covered with a dull olive-green paint. Chipped and cracked areas were patched and repaired with glass-fiber-reinforced gypsum (GFRG). The patterns of fruit, leaves, cherubs, mythological figures, strings, horns, lions and rams all emerged fresh with careful decorative painting and gold leaf accents. "Were those here all the time?" was a frequent question at the theater's re-opening.

"We carried the same decorative motif used in the auditorium out into the lobby and promenade," comments Herron. "A new concession counter was constructed, new carpeting laid and matching glass chandeliers hung in the vestibule and lobby." The mezzanine changed even more, according to the architect. "We raised the ceiling, added chandeliers and built new rest rooms. I believe we achieved our objective of understated elegance on the whole facility. "

Peggy Tueller concurs. Recently arrived from New York City to assume her duties as CAA executive director, Tueller says, "I couldn't believe a place like this existed in Logan. It's a treasure few cities could match." The impact has been more than cultural and artistic, according to Cache Chamber of Commerce executive director Doug Thompson. "There's been significant economic benefit from the influx of patrons coming from well beyond our local area," he says. "It's also a quality-of life issue which helps in attracting and retaining new businesses."

Looking Back and Ahead

The restored theater offers more than an ornate interior. it features exceptional staging capabilities and state-of-the-art equipment befitting a premier performing arts facility-plus comfortable seating.

The theater's offerings span a wide range of cultural interests, from grand opera to country western, with Broadway shows and local artistic groups adding richly to the mix. "Seeing the role the facility fills in the cultural life of Cache Valley makes the whole effort worthwhile," says Emmett, the former CAA chairman. "The theater portion took 16 months and cost $4.3 million, but that's only the measurable part. Thousands of volunteer hours were donated. City, county, state and federal governments all helped financially, but over two-thirds of the funds came from private sources."

Given the Ellen Eccles Theatre's background of close encounters with flame, one decorative feature which many take as symbolic of its re-emergence is found on the auditorium's side walls. Two large murals depict the phoenix, a mythological bird. One is ascending, and represents life; the other, in downward flight, portrays death. According to legend, the phoenix arose to new life from the ashes of its own death pyre, more beautiful and glorious than before. Here, perhaps, reality has overtaken legend.

To learn more about the Ellen Eccles Theatre and its restoration, contact the Capitol Arts Alliance,43 S. Main, Logan, UT 84321 (801) 753-6518 or JHCH Architects, 135 N. Main, Logan, UT 84321(80 I) 753-214 1.Boyd P. lsraelsen teaches technical writing and project management to electrical engineering students at Utah State University. He describes this as a relaxing, part-time career after 35 years of engineering and management in the aerospace industry. He was a recipient of the Utah Governor's Community Service Silver Bowl award in1 996 for his volunteer work in managing the restoration of the Ellen Eccles Theatre.