Old dance hall kicks up heels

Summary:

early history:

• built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 1900s
• a combination building with a theater on one side and dance hall on the other
• the LDS Church started selling off dance halls in the 1940s
• the Fountain Green hall was purchased and converted into a general store and roller-skating rink
• the store closed in the 1970s and remained vacant for 30 years

dance hall history:

• for decades, the building was "the heart of the community”
• a dance was held every weekend, almost always with live orchestra accompaniment
• whole families attended dances, even young children in pajamas and bare feet
• the town staged dances when soldier were sent to the world wars or returned home

theater history:

• used for community and children's plays and silent movies
• John Oldroyd cranked the hand-operated projector
• Deniece Blackham, who died in 2004 at age 92, played vaudevillian music on the piano to accompany the movies

condition of building before restoration:

• roof and part of the floor had caved in
• deteriorated pieces of the building had fallen into the centers of the rooms
• parts of the building were almost knee deep in pigeon droppings

restoration:

• cost $700,000
• building listed on the National Register of Historic Places
• in 1998 Russ Evans persuaded the owners to donate the building to the city, so the restoration effort could qualify for grant money
• inmates from the Gunnison prison cleared debris during 2001 and 2002, until funding for the prison work program ran out
• local volunteers cleared junk on weekends
• the last of the debris on the dance hall side was pushed to the center of the room and destroyed by bonfire
• a dedication party for the dance hall side of the building was held on Memorial Day weekend

restoration funding:

• the Division of State History awarded a $40,000 grant for historic and engineering studies
• a couple brothers in town provided a new roof, a $70,000 donation
• after the new roof was installed, major loans, grants, and gifts came in
• $65,000 from the George S. and Dolores Dore' Eccles Foundation
• $180,000 from the Utah Community Impact Board
• $150,000 from the community
• the Heritage Committee still needs to raise $50,000
• in-kind donations of materials and volunteer labor, including 5,000 hours from 300 volunteers

dance hall features:

• a maple dance floor with rubber matting underneath
• a stenciled border around the walls that matches original stenciling
• doors just like the originals

work remaining on theater side:

• flooring on the stage and auditorium
• lay replica Victorian-era carpeting in the aisles
• install chairs from a theater building at Snow College
• add a sound system
• marquee on the exterior