Orpheum gears up for next capital campaign to complete theater’s restoration

There are no more little jobs to do.

The Orpheum Theatre’s restoration has reached the point where a major capital campaign will soon be underway to raise $14 million to complete the renovation of the auditorium.

Ideally, it may take two years to raise the money, said Jennifer Allen, Orpheum Theatre president.

So far, $1.5 million has been raised.

The goal is to have all the theater’s restoration completed in time for the Orpheum’s centennial in 2022.

“It is going to take awhile unless somebody is willing and able to write a large check – we are not ruling that out – but what this project represents for the Orpheum is that we have taken the restoration in bite-size chunks, literally,” Allen said. “We have run out of projects except for the auditorium.”

When that money is raised, Allen said, the Orpheum will close for a year while the restoration is completed.

The Orpheum, built in 1922 at 200 N. Broadway, has long been envisioned as the crown jewel of Wichita’s arts and cultural community.

No longer around are the Civic, the Sunset, the Crest, the Palace and the Miller, majestic Wichita theaters long gone.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Orpheum enjoyed a 54-year history of continuous use from its opening in 1922 until closing in 1976. By the mid-1980s, the Orpheum had been slated for demolition and then was plucked from the list after volunteers stepped up to try renovating the building.

“Cleanup was a long and slow process,” Allen said. “There was no money; it was all volunteers.”

In 2000, the theater officially reopened.

The latest renovation project included re-plastering, repairing, refurbishing and repainting the walls, ceilings, decorative crown molding, mirrors, sconces, lights and stair railings.

The restoration of the auditorium foyer and east stair tower cost $500,000.

“In the last 15 years, more than $5 million has been raised and invested in the theater,” Allen said. “It has been a long and slow process.”

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Orpheum gears up for next capital campaign to complete theater’s restoration."