Eden.Turner@magicvalley.com
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Century-old Howells reopens to public after years of renovations
In the small town of Oakley, a 117-year-old building is the centerpiece of the community. Howells Opera House, built in 1907 by Benjamin Price Howells, not only stands in the center of the neighborhood, it also creates a place for residents to congregate, make memories and share their love of theater with the world. After being closed in 2021 due to dangers posed by its sagging roof, the theater re-opened Friday to an excited crowd. When Howells first opened, theatergoers would travel far and wide from cities such as Boise and Salt Lake City to watch plays at the Opera House. The theater sat over 300 guests in the balcony, balcony wings and main floor.
In those times, theaters were considered the homes of risqué burlesque shows — the opposite of highbrow entertainment. Despite this, Howells only produced entertainment that was suitable for all ages, mainly melodramatic and farcical plays put on by local theater troupes and groups based in San Francisco and Seattle. A few decades later, in the 1920s, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought the theater, transformed it into the Cassia Stake Playhouse, and installed movie projectors in the back of the balcony. In the 1970s, the church considered demolishing the theater due to the building’s deterioration. In response, the community formed the Oakley Valley Theater, a group that would oversee the theater and its productions. Two years later, the group bought the theater from the church, and to this day, it still stands with the help of many renovations.
Howells Opera House is a place that traveled through families and spanned generations as it changed and grew during its lifetime. If you ask the current members of the Oakley Valley Arts Council, they’d tell you that the theater holds the same impact as it did so long ago. Jan Davis, the council treasurer and historian, grew up in Oakley. In high school, she joined the choir. If students wanted to get a good grade in the class, Davis said, they would have to perform at the theater. Years later, her husband, Denny, joined the OVAC board. She worked in ticketing and created posters for the theater, as she preferred to work behind the scenes. Even her children spent some time at Howells, having performed on the stage over the years. Davis loves the theater’s atmosphere as the audi- ence comes and goes. “I love to see the audiences come and leave happy. That is the best feeling,” she said. “You build relationships that you probably wouldn’t have had if you weren’t involved. There’s so many good people. That’s what it’s about.”
Gail Gillette spent her time at Howells teaching younger thespians. Gillette went to school for theater and helped organize a drama camp for six years. “That turned out to be really good (for) unity because parents wanted to be with their children,” she said, “and children enjoyed it. … I loved the theater part of it and just wanted to spread (my love).” She became more interested in the business aspect of the theater and immersed herself in it, creating projects for refurbishments. “It’s been a lifelong learning (experience),” she said.
In August 2021, OVAC members discovered that the theater’s curved ceiling was sagging and needed to be renovated with new infrastructure. OVAC halted its production at the time and closed the theater until the necessary changes were made to the building, as a means of keeping the community safe. After receiving an architectural plan in June 2022, the board learned that it would cost nearly $360,000 to renovate the building. “It was to the point that they needed to do something,” Davis explained. The council hosted fundraisers and set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for the theater’s renovations. Immediately, the community members stepped up to help the theater and donated their funds to the cause.
Gary Jones Construction, Idaho Heritage Trust and McCain Foods were all instrumental in bringing the theater back to its community. Every time former council president Denny Davis went to pick up a donation from the post office, he would cry, he told the Times-News. The community’s generosity was overwhelming. “It didn’t matter if it was $20,000, it didn’t matter if it was $5,” he said, “I cried. … We love the people. It’s all for them. That’s why we spent so many years (here).”
In total, the community donated more than $244,000 to the theater, and luckily, the renovations weren’t as severe as first reported. On Thursday, OVAC organized a special event to honor its donors for their contributions. That night, every seat in the theater was filled as the community welcomed Howells’ grand reopening with open arms. The council also pre- viewed its upcoming play, “The Importance of Being Earnest” for the special guests. At the beginning of the event, Jan Davis and Gillette recounted the theater’s history and renovations through grateful tears. “We knew (that) if we worked together and completed these final tasks, we would be able to reopen and that was exciting,” they told the donors. “We thank you!”
Members of the council lined the stage, showing the various generations that the theater has impacted since the 1900s. OVAC members have been on the board for decades. They’ve seen the theater change over the years, and understand that the ability to connect with the community is very important. “We need the arts,” Davis said. “We just do, and it gives everybody an opportunity. … (It’s important) to have that richness and to have more theaters than when we started. It’s important to keep this going in our small town.” Davis and Gillette hope soon to pass on their batons to the younger OVAC members. In the years to come, they’ll finally be able to attend the theater as guests and watch Howells Opera House continue to grow and impact its community.
