The old grammar school auditorium inside Colusa’s Historic City Hall is an American treasure, thereby making its restoration a possible candidate for federal funding.
Colusa grant writer Fernada Vanetta got approval from the City Council to apply for a Save America’s Treasures grant in early October. The council also authorized a structural evaluation to be performed so that she can accurately budget for the project.
Vanetta’s next step is to get a significant amount of buy-in from the community to make the project possible.
“We have the opportunity to apply for a Save America’s Treasures grant,” Vanetta said at a community meeting on Oct. 13. “We got lucky this year because the grant usually only allows you to apply for $500,000. This year, they are allowing us to apply for up to $750,000. The catch is that it is a one-for-one match.”
The National Park Service administers the grant, in partnership with various endowments, typically to help agencies preserve properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places or designated a National Historic Landmark.
Vanetta said every bit of the $1.5 million would be needed to secure the building and restore the auditorium.
“It’s a project of high priority,” she said.
About 10 people attended a community meeting, including Cindy Steidlmayer, who said the magnificent auditorium is deserving of attention so that it could be used again for theater and other performances.
“Even in its present state, it is really impressive,” Steidlmayer said.
Although not all of the match must be made in cash, Vanetta said restoration would still need significant fundraising and high-dollar donations, possibly coming from “seat” and “stage” sponsors.
“If we sell 300 seats at $500 then we would come up with $150,000,” Vanetta said. “That’s a nice chunk of change already, and what a great way to leave a legacy that you purchased a seat at the theater. I would also love to sell the naming rights to the theater from a community partner. That would be a bigger ask, maybe in the $50,000 range.”
While Vanetta said fundraising may depend on corporate donations, much of the restoration would be a grassroots effort of the community to save the auditorium, which is beginning to show significant water damage in the ceiling and walls from decay and disrepair.
Other fundraising ideas may include school projects, fundraising events, and contests.
The auditorium, which had an original seating capacity of over 600, is located in the center of the historic building on Webster Street, which is one of the few remaining Central Valley grammar schools designed in the Gothic Revival style, popular in the early 20th Century. The interior corridor system for the first floor is one of the earliest examples of poured-in-place, reinforced concrete, which is still structurally sound, Vanetta said. The exterior of the building is essentially unchanged since 1918.
The former school, now converted to city offices, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It was last used as a school in 1976.
Vanetta anticipates applying for the grant by the Dec. 20 deadline.
Congress has appropriated $26.5 million in FY2022 funding for preservation projects.
However, the grants are highly competitive. Since 1999, there have been more than 4,000 requests for funding totaling more than $1.54 billion. Only $315.7 million has been awarded to approximately 1,300 projects.
Vanetta expects to hold multiple public meetings to increase public support for the project.
“If we can get the theater done, then we can start generating funds and excitement about restoring the rest of the building,” Vanetta said. “It’s important to save it. It’s a beautiful part of town. I would challenge anyone to drive through other towns and find buildings like this…and we have four in the City of Colusa.” ■