Supporters fight to revive Georgia Theatre

By Lauren Mitchell
ATHENS, Ga. – A fire on June 19, 2009 left the Georgia Theatre in ruins. But devastating as the damage was, Georgia Theatre won’t have to tackle this rebuilding project on its own. The historical venue has received support from employees, locals and students alike.

“The initial support of everyone in the city was very overwhelming - the influx of offers for benefits was very heavy and felt,” said Owen Gray, former assistant and marquee man for Georgia Theatre.

The rebuild is expected to cost around $3 million, according to Katie Carmody, talent buyer and owner and head of artist relations and promotions for Georgia Theatre.

“I’m sure as the construction happens, that number will grow with time. We will need to do some substantial fundraising to meet our goal. Insurance only covered so much,” Carmody said.
The building was only insured for its value when Wilmot Greene, Georgia Theatre’s owner purchased the property back in 2005. The hundreds of thousands of dollars that have been spent in renovations over the 4 years since then, however, are not covered by insurance.

Athens bars, restaurants and venues have contributed to the fundraising efforts. The Revive the Theatre event on Aug. 22 saw the support of 20 local businesses, all donating ten percent of the day’s sales to the rebuilding project.

“The University of Georgia’s student body has really shown its support. T-shirt sales have been one of our most successful fundraisers. I look forward to getting students even more involved now that school is in session.” Carmody said.

Greene created The Rebuild Georgia Theatre Facebook page, to encourage help from the community. The group had 21,926 fans as of Sept. 16.

“This was a devastating loss for our student population,” said Leah Kosmoski, third-year international affairs student from Alpharetta. “My friends and I try to attend all of the benefit concerts. I’m really looking forward to the Abbey Road Live benefit concert at the Classic Center coming up in October.”

Outside of local efforts, The Georgia Theatre recently partnered with The Georgia Trust, Georgia’s only statewide non-profit historic preservation organization. The group established a special fund, known as the Georgia Theatre Rehabilitation Fund, to which people can make donations.

“The owners of the Georgia Theatre asked for our assistance with establishing this fund because they wanted people to feel secure in knowing that their donation would be put towards rehabilitation work,” Kate Ryan, programs manager for The Georgia Trust, said.

All funds donated to The Georgia Trust for the Georgia Theatre Rehabilitation Fund will be used to pay rehabilitation expenses. The expenses will include construction costs, architectural fees and engineering fees.

In addition to establishing the fund for donations, The Georgia Trust has helped the theater by suggesting consultants, coordinating press releases and offering some technical preservation advice.

“It was a no-brainer to us that this is a historic structure with significance to the history of Athens, and to the history of music in Georgia, that was in need of preservation,” Ryan said.

People can donate by sending checks with "Georgia Theatre Rehabilitation Fund" in the memo line to:
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
Attn: Kate Ryan
1516 Peachtree St., NW
Atlanta, GA 30309

Or online at http://www.georgiatrust.org/ on the contribution page. All online donations must indicate "Georgia Theatre Rehabiliation Fund" in the "In honor of" field of the online contribution form. All donations made to The Georgia Trust are tax deductible.

Also, visit the Georgia Theater’s new web site, http://www.georgiatheatre.com/, for a list of future concerts and fundraising opportunities.

Edited by Daniel Williams