The Fox Theatre Institute will give $479,465 in 2018/19 grants for historic preservation projects in metro Atlanta, cities throughout Georgia and its first out-of-state grant to Elba Theatre in Elba, Ala.
The Institute, or FTI as its known, breaks its funds into three categories: preservation (or brick-and-mortar grants); studies/planning grants; and emergency grants. More than 20 applications were submitted. Here’s how the winning grants break down, by category, in descending order of money allocated.
Preservation grant recipients
GROVE THEATRE: $100,000. Atlanta’s Grove Theatre is part of the Grove Park Foundation development project on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway NW. It opened in 1941 and closed in 1961, according to CinemaTreasures.org. Its grant, to support roof replacement and masonry repairs, is the largest in FTI history.
PLAZA THEATRE ARTS CENTER: $66,400. The Eatonton venue will use its grant to preserve the building’s exterior façade, with its top priority being the installation of a steel transfer beam.
ROYAL THEATRE: $51,250. This Hogansville spot opened in 1937 and is now used as City Hall. These funds will go toward architecture plans and specifications for its ongoing rehabilitation and to turn it back into a working theater (and not City Hall). The Royal received a studies/planning grant last year.
HABERSHAM COMMUNITY THEATRE: $48,400. The grant will pay for stabilizing the Clarkesville venue’s outdoor façade, exterior repairs, a potential beam installation, and historic brick and stucco repair.
WINTERVILLE AUDITORIUM: $47,500. The Warrenton facility received a preservation grant last year. These funds will help with installing a soundproof wall and sound- and lighting-booth equipment.
ACADEMY THEATRE: $25,000. The Hapeville venue, with deep roots in metro Atlanta’s theater community, will help pay for a main theater drape, seats, LED lighting and sound equipment.
WAYCROSS AREA COMMUNITY THEATRE: $19,625. This matching grant will help the Waycross venue repair its HVAC equipment. In the past several years, the theater company has been raising funds to refurnish the Ritz Theatre, which is more than 100 years old.
WARRENTON CULTURAL CENTER: $17,600. The Warrenton venue will use its funds to repair and replace its roof. Since 2010, the building has been home to Area Children’s Theatre Inc. as well as hosting community events and private parties.
Studies/planning grant recipients
SARA O’KELLY MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM: $32,190. The Grantville venue will use its funds for professional consultations and to plan for rehabilitating and restoring the auditorium.
IMPERIAL THEATRE: $15,000. The Augusta venue received an FTI preservation grant last year and will use this money to create schematic plans and drawings that address continuing preservation work.
HOLLY THEATRE: $6,600. The Dahlonega theater received an earlier FTI preservation grant to restore its marquee. This project will study structural areas of the stage and backstage areas.
Emergency grant recipients
THEATRE MACON: $25,000. Since 1991, Theatre Macon has operated out of downtown’s historic Ritz Movie Theatre. This grant will help pay for roof repairs.
ELBA THEATRE: $25,000: This theater in Elba, Ala., is the first out-of-state venue to receive a grant. It will be used for roof repairs and augment funding from the Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.
Since FTI’s inception in 2008, the Fox Theatre has committed more than $1 million to preservation and education, including “Fox in a Box,” a free, interactive curriculum-based resource for elementary schools, and Georgia Presenters, a statewide talent booking consortium.
