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Newsmaker of the Year: Energy, momentum bring honor to Nicholson
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Scott Spielman Editor |
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Don Nicholson, the capital fundraising chairman for the Historic Wayne Theater, was named Newsmaker of the Year for his renewed efforts to preserve the historic structure.For years, the Historic Wayne Theatre has stood largely vacant, populated sporadically by ghosts and ghouls.
The only activity that took place at the historic downtown landmark was the haunted houses that volunteers put on every year, along with their slow, diligent attempts to renovate the aging structure.
That all changed this year when Don Nicholson—who had been involved with the theater more than 20 years ago—returned to the volunteer scene in a final attempt to restore the old movie house.
Since then, new architectural drawings have been made up and several benefits put on to promote the cause and generate money for the major renovation project.
“There’s been more activity there this year than in my 25 years in Wayne,” said Wayne Mayor Al Haidous.
The Wayne Theatre has a long, storied past. Opened in 1927, it initially included five storefronts and an underground bowling alley. Once the pride of the community, it served a variety of uses throughout the years and played host to the most popular forms of entertainment. The theater closed briefly in 1929 but it was reopened as a movie house a few months later and run that way until 1953, when the newer State Wayne opened.
It was used as a music store with dance and rehearsal rooms until a fire destroyed the five storefronts in 1985. The theater wasn’t damaged in the blaze, but it was closed down until 1987, when a group of theater buffs announced their intention to restore the old dame.
Those efforts were sparse, though, until earlier this year when the theater was cited by the City of Wayne under the Dangerous Building Ordinance, through which the city can order a building be brought up to code or demolished.
Nicholson, following a request from Valerie Latzman, a town historian who manages the Wayne Historical Museum, became involved again.
“The biggest thing that has happen in the past year is that we have goals,” Nicholson said. “We’ve always had a group of people dedicated to preserving the theater, but they’ve at times lacked direction. I think that’s what I brought to the table here.”
Nicholson is well-versed in fundraising activities, putting on several throughout the year. The 51-year-old has put on several for the theater and has others planned in the coming months, too. In addition, he’s working with Zachary & Associates, a firm that helps non-profits find funding opportunities through grants.
“We still need to depend a lot on the community,” he said.
He’s developed a concept for the theater that will see new development in front of it, where the storefronts once stood. He said his goal is to bring a high-end restaurant there as part of a three-story development that would also include business offices for the arts groups the theater would service as well as rehearsal space. The theater itself would host anything from movies to intimate concerts.
It will take a large fundraising effort to find the $4 million he thinks it will take, but if he’s successful, he said the project will be a catalyst for the city, in general.
“We can be a spark for the City of Wayne,” he said. “We think it’ll open up so many doors for the city. This place has so much potential—that’s what people have been missing all these years. It’s up to us to do it.”
