The Story so far...Updated: July, 2024
Efforts to restore the Liberty Theatre began with lots of planning, fundraising, then a lot of demolition - dating back to the Foundation’s creation in late 2011. Early on came the demolition of the commercial retail stores that long occupied the interior of the theater after its closure in 1959. Removing the false floor and the false ceiling that spanned the entire building revealed the true size of the auditorium and stage for the first time in 60 years! From then on it only took a little imagination and you could start to get a sense of the grand potential the theater had. At the end 2017 the large LIBERTY blade sign was installed on the front of the theater. Signaling to the community that our theater was coming back! In 2018, work was completed that stabilized the deteriorating auditorium ceiling - allowing the interior work to commence in earnest. This involved a LOT more demolition while the initial construction plans also began taking shape.
2019 was the first big year of actual restoration work at the Liberty Theatre: Early in the year, the new roof was completed; including with an R-21 rated insulating foam. An initial set of drawings was approved that allowed some construction work to begin in the lobby and entryway. Much carpentry was done that resulted in the large dividing wall between the lobby and auditorium, a new sub-floor, and two new staircases up to the mezzanine level. Out front, blonde brick was restored on either side of the main entrance, and the front entry doors themselves were framed in. Permanent electrical service was also brought to the building thanks to a new underground conduit installed from the alley, and an additional water line was brought into the building for the fire suppression system. Towards the end of the year, the large steel frame of the front canopy was constructed and attached to the facade.
In the summer of 2020, as work was progressing steadily, the final construction drawings were realized and construction work was permitted for the entire building. The Foundation was also very generously gifted over 300 seats from Eastern Oregon University’s McKenzie Theatre. Roughly 285 of which will later be installed in our auditorium. The overall pace of restoration work would ultimately start to slow after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but nonetheless the Foundation left 2020 having made great progress with the install of the HVAC and fire suppression systems, as well as the construction of a large, temporary work platform allowing crews to access the auditorium ceiling. We entered the next year with our fair share of delays, but also with as much motivation as ever.
Despite construction materials' staggering jump in price, a labor shortage, and other pandemic caused challenges, restoration efforts carried into 2021. A major construction milestone that year was the raising of the entire stage nearly three feet - back to its original height. This will restore the original grandeur of the stage, while also allowing us to restore the basement beneath the stage as a place for dressing rooms and bathrooms for performers - just as there once had been. Other highlights that year include extensive foundation work under the stage, and the framing of the front ticket booth and the ADA bathroom in the lobby. Newly framed rows for seats and a platform in the auditorium were also built that will facilitate ADA viewing, as well as the tech booth. Plumbers also began roaming the theater; installing much of the basic infrastructure needed for the bathrooms and other water fixtures. A lot of work throughout 2021 was done to the auditorium ceiling and attic using the temporary work platform. Electricians installed lights, more of the sprinkler system was installed in the attic, and all of the plaster and drywall on the ceiling and cove had been restored, textured and painted. We also had a local artist begin restoring the original look of the organ loft and fan rooms, as well as the medallion around the chandelier. Finally, near the end of the year a large door was installed in the back of the stage to facilitate easy loading/unloading from the alley.
The Liberty Theatre Foundation was also very pleased to witness the opening of the neighboring Liberty Theatre Café in 2021. This newly opened business located in the adjacent, and recently renovated historic Putnam Building serve the community as a cafe, and be a great neighbor and partner to the theater.
In early 2022, we saw the restoration of the auditorium ceiling finally complete. The original ceiling textures, and the medallion from which our historic chandelier is hung was restored. Lastly, the fully restored chandelier was installed and lit up for the first time since the theater’s closure in 1959. Throughout the remainder of 2022, the theater was host to weekly open houses that allowed the public to view our progress - often times to much amazement! We also were happy to host the Eastern Oregon Film Festival in October for the first time. Much of 2022 was also spent planning for the final phase of construction - the finish work. After years of work to restore the major systems of the building, it’s finally time to cover it all up and install the flooring, paint the walls, build out the bathrooms, and build out all of the cinema/sound/light systems (among a TON of other details). This final phase of construction will take us to our long-awaited “Grande Opening”, and will be fully funded by a $767,000 grant from the Federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) we were awarded in September of 2022.
As we continued through 2023, the Liberty Theatre Foundation was carefully planning and pooling resources to make our final push to complete the restoration. It’s imperative that we do it right, so the work behind the scenes has been exhausting and meticulous; working with the EDA, our grants manager, our engineers, and design team to get everything completely done “on paper” and paid for.
Finally, near the end of June of 2024, the Foundation was given the greenlight by the EDA to begin soliciting bids from contractors willing to complete the theater. After a nearly two-year process of meeting grant requirements and jumping through countless hoops, we’re very excited to put the project out to bid. When construction does finally resume, we anticipate just of few months of work remains before the theater is DONE.
The Liberty Theatre Foundation looks forward to continuing our restoration efforts and finally realizing our dream of opening the doors to patrons once more for entertaining nights of music, film, performance art, and much much more!
We are so thankful for our donors and grantors who have made this progress possible and look forward to working with them and others in the future:
The Federal Economic Development Administration, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Ford Family Foundation, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Miller Foundation, Collins Foundation, Roundhouse Foundation, Wildhorse Foundation, Oregon Main Street, Oregon Lottery, Oregon Cultural Trust, Oregon Heritage, Travel Oregon, Oregon State Parks, The Oregon Legislature, the La Grande Urban Renewal Agency, and COUNTLESS individual donors. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
