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Tibbits gets $500,000 grant

By Lori Holcomb

Battle Creek Enquirer (Michigan)

December 5, 2008

COLDWATER — The exterior of Tibbits Opera House might not be much of a head-turner now, but give it time.

Thanks to a grant received last week, Tibbits is $500,000 closer to restoring the theater to its original 1882 grandeur.

The grant, funded by the Federal Highway Administration National Scenic Byways Program, was administered through the Michigan Department of Transportation to the City of Coldwater on behalf of Tibbits.

The grant will go toward phase three of the theater's renovation, said Executive Director Christine Delaney. In this phase, the entire façade will be restored to its original 1882 Second French Empire design. That design was removed and covered with an Art Deco façade when the theater was converted into a movie house in the 1930s, which was replaced with a temporary façade in the 1960s.

The replacement façade was meant to be in place only a few years, but was never replaced because other repairs took priority. Delaney said the renovations hopefully will return the building to the magnificence envisioned by its founder, Barton Tibbits.

"It was really meant to stand out and get your attention," she said. "And the fact that it's still standing makes it very special."

The National Scenic Byways Program is highly competitive and the only grant program in the federal budget that's not earmarked, but based on merit, said Pete Hanses, MDOT Heritage Route Program director.

Across the country, 221 grants were awarded, totaling $38.59 million. In Michigan, four grants worth a sum of $682,500 were allotted.

"I think the reviewers saw that there's a gem hidden (in Coldwater), and the passion people feel for that place and what it can be," Hanses said.

Christine Hilton, Coldwater city planner, applied for the grant on behalf of the theater that hosted legends such as Buffalo Bill Cody, John Phillip Sousa, Mickey Rooney and Bob Newhart throughout its 126 years. She said its cultural and economic value is not only a tremendous asset to the city, but to the entire US-12 Heritage Route.

"It's very, very important," she said. "They not only draw locally, but from Indiana, Ohio and from all over the state. It's huge to be able to have that in downtown."

In addition to completely changing the façade's design, the third phase of renovations included repairing damaged exterior bricks, which has already been completed, and restoration of the cupola, which begin in January. Previous phases of the renovation included a feasibility study and internal repairs to make the building fully accessible to disabled persons, repairing boilers and demolition of an adjacent building, among others.

Although the Scenic Byways grant puts Tibbits at $1.1 million of the $1.5 million needed for phase three renovations, there's still work to be done. Delaney said she hopes the grant will lure donors off the proverbial fence.

"The grant is a tremendous thanks to all who believed in it early," she said. "But now we're hoping others will see that things are coming to fruition and hopefully, they will step up now and help us get the fundraising completed."

Lori Holcomb can be reached at 966-0675 or lholcomb@battlecr.gannett.com.