SHAWNEE — On March 28, an event known as “Going Up!” was hosted at the Tecumseh Commons, signaling that renovations would be moving to the second floor of the regionally famous Tecumseh Theater. The event was led and hosted by the building’s current owners, Sunday Creek Associates.
These renovations include but aren’t limited to a new elevator column, among other things.
The event featured many prominent county officials and well-known individuals from across the state. It recognized many of these individuals and their various contributions they have made to the continued use and revamping of the Tecumseh Theater.
Brian Harnetty, the President of Sunday Creek Associates, started the meeting. He welcomed everyone and gave an introduction to the event. “The theater is at the heart of Shawnee, between nature and history,” said Harnetty. “And indeed, it has been called the ‘Soul of the Little Cities.’ I think these descriptions are apt. It seems to me this theater is important to every single person here. It is essential to our imagination about this place, about Ohio, and about Appalachia more broadly.”
Next up was Deb Hutmire, who is also a part of the Sunday Creek Associates. She introduced many county-wide and state-wide prominent figures who attended the meeting. Although many individuals were shouted out, among the more notable was Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), and Ben Mechanic from ODNR mineral resources. State Rep. Mark Johnson, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, and Javan Johnson, on behalf of U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson, were also all in attendance.
Staff associate John Winnenberg was next to speak and introduced some of the following speakers. He also introduced the original Tecumseh Theater group, which consisted of Skip Ricketts, Judy Fankhauser, Cindy Hartman, Roger and Diane McCauley, Jim Hart, Susan Harrison, and many more. He credited this group for being responsible for stopping the building from being completely torn down in 1976.
Ricketts spoke briefly on behalf of his group; “This is a dream come true,” he said. Ricketts would also be the individual at the end of the meeting who had the honor of hanging a banner on one of the sides of the building, which would signal construction has begun on the upper parts of the building.
Sadly, some of the original theater group members have passed away. Among those noted in memoriam at the meeting were Joe and Marie Lichtenstein, Larry Wentz, and Sandra Landis.
Greg Landis, son of Sandra Landis, came up and talked a bit about his mother and her contributions. “I’m sure she is smiling right now and sending good vibes to Shawnee,” he said.
Afterward, Winnenburg shared some more thoughts about the theater. “This is going to be one of the coolest places in Southeast Ohio when it’s done,” he said. “Because it’s going to be a place where you not only have a good time but you learn a lot with your leisure.”
Next up was Scott Kreps, the theater’s youth program coordinator & property manager. He had introduced a new song created by the Shawnee youth titled “Small Town Pride.” In the meeting, the song was sung and was led by guitarist Randy Gleeson.
Andrew Bashaw, from Buckeye Trail Association and Sunday Creek Associates, also spoke. As he will be leaving the board of directors soon, it was announced Bashaw would be allowed to plant a tree in the area for his contributions to the Tecumseh Theater and Shawnee region. He spoke about how the Buckeye Trail and the building were intertwined and vital for the community. “This building right here and the people sitting in it really represent the town part of ‘trail town,’” he said.
He also announced that the Buckeye Trail will be moved onto Main Street in the next year or two to help connect the community more to Wayne National Forest “physically and literally.” Also, if you travel on the Buckeye Trail in the future, it will be connected to Tecumseh Lake.
After the meeting, he also offered a tour of the trail that the Buckeye Trail Association created around Tecumseh Lake as a part of the proceedings.
Last but certainly not least, representatives from ODNR, Mary Mertz and Ben McCament, gave their thoughts. They emphasized that their involvement was attributable to the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization Program (AMLER), which is how they’re able to help fund the reconstruction of the Tecumseh Theater.
“There is a lot of excitement in store for what’s to come here for Tecumseh Theater, and that’s really what the program is all about,” Mertz said. “Four million dollars in funds we hope will go beyond just restoring the theater. We hope when that happens, it’s going to help the whole town.”
Mertz also talked about other projects ODNR’s AMLER program has supported. She noted that the Village of Chauncey opened a new trailhead for the Baileys Trail System just last year. This involved a new pavilion, playground, bicycle pump track, and more. In the City of Wellston, they opened a new recreation complex. Lastly, she noted a project in Athens that takes acid mine drainage and the iron hydroxide that’s captured from it to make pigments for paint.
‘This community had a vision. You all had a vision, all of you, for so, so long. You believed in the possibilities for what could happen with the renovated theater, and that’s what the funds are for—to make those dreams and visions reality,” she concluded.
As for the history of the building, according to the Tecumseh Theater website, Tecumseh Theater, famously titled “The Soul of the Little Cities,” was initially built in 1908. The original theater group, now known as the “Tecumseh Theater Friends,” owned the building until 2012, when they disbanded as a non-profit organization, which is when they gave ownership of the building to the Sunday Creek Associates. The original theater group is still very much involved with the building’s operation and actively contributes to its success.
Since then, the building’s exterior has been renovated, the roof has been replaced multiple times, structural repairs have been done, and much other work has gone on to keep the building up and out of disrepair.
Back in 2008, a U.S. federal government initiative, the Save America’s Treasures program, contributed to several works that helped renovate the building. It helped contribute to new brick tuck pointing, facade restoration, and window replacement.
Also, at that time, the first-story interior was made into a public event space known as the Tecumseh Commons (This is where “Going Up!” was held). This space is available to the public and features a visitor information area as well as a wireless internet cafe. Currently it is used for a variety of purposes such as rentals for parties, weddings, a polling place, and other programs for Shawnee.
Past 2008, the interior stairwell that leads to the balcony theater was replaced, the installation of pocket doors that connected both store fronts was done, and new electrical services were installed in the main theater. Also, Sunday Creek Associates was able to acquire lots next to the theater which could go toward new spaces in the theater’s development.
As for what is next for the theater, in addition to the aforementioned improvements to the second floor and the elevator column, they plan on introducing new HVAC systems, wall and floor surfacing, restrooms, seating, and stage equipment.
More information and history regarding Tecumseh Theater is available on their website, tecumsehtheater.org.
Tecumseh Theater is located at 114-116 West Main Street in the National Register of Historic Places District in Shawnee. For more information, you can contact them at 740-580-2065.
Local News
Comments / 0