BOISE – The Idaho Heritage Trust (IHT) has selected nine historic theatres to receive $821,000 in funding through our Historic Theatre Revitalization Subgrant Program in order to facilitate the preservation of these vital structures in Idaho’s rural communities (defined as having a population less than 50,000 people). This program is supported by the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant Program funded by the Historic Preservation Fund as administered by the National Park Service (NPS), Department of Interior and the Idaho Heritage Trust Fund. The recipients will match ten (10) % or more of the award amount to complete their restoration projects.
The recipients of the Idaho Heritage Trust Historic Theatre Revitalization Subgrant Awards are:
Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, Moscow Liberty Theater, Lewiston Historic Opera Theater, Glenns Ferry Bovill Opera House, Bovill Panida Theater, Sandpoint The Roxy Theater, Cascade Shoshone Showhouse, Shoshone Burley Theatre, Burley Nuart Theatre, Blackfoot
These organizations were awarded between $49,000 and $100,000 to fund such undertakings as restoring exterior facades and marquees to new roofs and everything in between.
IHT’s objectives for this subgrant program are to preserve and protect buildings of historic significance, ensure our rural communities have access to the arts and culture, reinvigorate a key economic component of historic Main Streets, and provide a tool for our smaller communities to capitalize on Idaho’s growing population and heritage tourism industry.
“One of the primary tenets of IHT’s mission is to preserve, protect, and share the stories represented by our historic buildings. What building has more of a story to tell than an historic theatre?” Donna Woolston, Chair of IHT’s Board of Directors, asks rhetorically. “With this funding, these theatres can continue to tell their own story, while also contributing to the greater culture, economy, and heritage in small communities throughout the state.”
Visit idahoheritagetrust.org or follow the Idaho Heritage Trust on Facebook for more information on the subgrant program as a whole, as well as specifics on each proposed project and updates as we move towards and through the commencement of work.
Contact: Katherine Kirk, Executive Director, Idaho Heritage Trust
Phone: 208-579-2382
Email: hello@idahoheritagetrust.org
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Idaho-Heritage-Trust
