Huron County Growth Partnership Champions Arts & Culture: Final Call for March 31st NAC Pledge Deadline to Unlock Tax Credits for Historic Norwalk Theatre Restoration

Two women with a vision formed the non-profit Norwalk Arts Center (NAC) and started an arts education and entertainment program that now touches thousands of lives in north central Ohio.  NAC simultaneously purchased the historic Norwalk Theatre and the next step is a biggie – total interior rehabilitation of the beautiful icon.

“We see Norwalk Theater as a shining beacon on Main Street,” said Dina Lukasko, president of the NAC board and executive director for the renovation project. And the recently renovated marquee once again literally lights up Main Street each night.

The marquee renovation, a $351,000 project partially funded with a state grant of $250,000, was the second step in preparation for the interior rehabilitation.  The first order of business, in 2020, was a total roof replacement, which cost more than $251,000 and was completely paid for with local donations.

The interior rehabilitation, expected to take more than two years, will finally bring the historic building back to life and provide a permanent home for NAC, which currently operates out of a rented storefront down the street.

The State of Ohio, recognizing the importance of the theater to the area, chipped in $3 million so NAC is currently working to raise another $2.5 million.   The theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, opening up the opportunity for NAC to receive state and federal tax credits.  Once the $2.5 million has been pledged, NAC will apply for the tax credits to the potential tune of $4.5 million dollars, enabling the doors to this historic beauty to open once again.

The deadline to receive pledges is March 31, 2025. 

NAC co-founders Vanessa Cook and Theresa Barcus, both transplants to Norwalk, discovered they had a mutual love of theatre and the arts when they met at their children’s school.  When they noticed the abandoned theater building in uptown Norwalk, they embarked on a mission that is already revitalizing the community and promises a bright future for the arts in Huron County.

NAC’s arts education programming now includes Arts Explorers (quarterly sessions for grades 1-4), AIM (Artists in the Making, monthly pop-up art sessions during the school year for grades 5-8), NACTA (NAC Teen Association with programs and events throughout the year for high school students), Discover Your NAC (adult education classes), Theatre Camp (each summer for grades 1-12) and Theatre Discovery (live educational theatre productions offered at no cost to all students in grades 1-6 in Huron County).

NAC also produces three shows each year – Teen Theatre each June featuring students entering high school through graduating seniors, NACtors production each August for all community members and Junior Musical each November for grades 2-8. NAC has also offered dinner theatre productions, a public arts project, artist showcases, comedy shows and other entertainment events for the community.

NAC’s rented space is open in the front with a small black-box theater built by board members and volunteers in the back.  The theater only holds 150 so audience size is limited.  NAC has to rent additional space for many events, which demonstrates the need for the additional space of the theater.

“Look what we’re doing here (in the rented space) and imagine what we can do in the theater down the street,” said Cook.  “We’ve operated for years on a small budget with the help of many, many  volunteers, but we can do so much more when we are in the theater.”

Board members and volunteers in the community have been working toward this next phase in renovations since 2019.  They’ve removed all of the seats and cleaned up as much of the interior as possible. Now, plans for the interior start with completely updated HVAC, electrical and plumbing for starters.  The theater will remain as true to the 1941 feel as possible, with adding modern improvements in technology, audio/visual, etc.

Norwalk Theatre was built in 1941 by John and Drew Eberson, renowned theater architects, as a movie house with 1,111 seats.  Past renovations added stage and orchestra space and reduced the seat count to 924. New plans include additional stage space, handicapped and more versatile seating, additional gathering and concession space with approximately 650 seats.

Rehabilitation plans honor Eberson’s original Streamline Moderne (a version of Art Deco) style and preserve the history of the building, but update the facility so it can serve as a versatile gathering space for many events.

While the theater construction is just beginning, NAC has been busy building bridges in the community from the start. Teen productions have featured youth from three counties, seven area high schools and home school students.  Arts Explorers attracts new students each session from across city and township boundaries. Discover Your NAC and NACtors events have attracted participants, performers and audiences from a wide area.

NAC has partnered with other non-profits such Artists’ Open Studio, which serves disabled artists in the community, Reach Our Youth, Norwalk Jaycees, The Piggyback Foundation and the City of Norwalk for projects. NAC’s first public art project attracted hundreds of participants – veterans, scouts, students, seniors in assisted living, churches, businesses, friends and families – to paint trash cans for public use throughout the area. Geotrac Foundation, Norwalk Area United Fund, Huron County Community Foundation and Norwalk Kiwanis are all supporters of NAC programming.

NAC’s mission to make the arts available to everyone in the community will continue when NAC can expand operations at the theater.  Once renovations are complete, the theater will be a destination for arts education and entertainment in the region. The year-round entertainment venue will attract increased traffic for other Norwalk businesses. 

NAC is already helping people in the area expand their horizons.  Once NAC has restored the historic Norwalk Theater, it can broaden programming to bring the arts in many forms from across the world to our little corner of it.

For more information about Norwalk Arts Center or to contact them about making a pledge, visit their website.