Author: Mike Bailey
Work continues on Peoria’s Scottish Rite Theatre, which has had to contend with the curve balls tossed by COVID-19 like every other entertainment venue in central Illinois.
Indeed, even if the renovations at the architectural jewel that began construction in 1924 were done and the historic theater and ballroom were ready for the concerts, plays and banquets that promise large audiences there, the state’s COVID-mitigation restrictions on public gatherings – no more than 50 people – would make that all but impossible.
Meanwhile, like any building approaching 100 years old, there were secrets and surprises hidden inside its cavernous brick walls, as well as certain shortcomings that modern-day audiences would not have tolerated.
Take an absence of air conditioning, for example.
Worry not, as a modern HVAC system has been installed at the facility, as evidenced by the labyrinth of exposed PVC piping throughout. In fact, the progress has been significant. On any given day, a visitor shouldn’t be fooled by the dozen or more CORE Construction workers in hardhats scattered around the building inside and out, the tarps covering the auditorium seats, the scaffolding still up and the steel beams occupying the theater floor.
“We are getting so close,” said Jenny Parkhurst, performing arts director for Kim Blickenstaff’s KDB Group. Indeed, the old coal room has been cleared and cleaned to make way for the building’s electronic nerve center. The furnace was to be fired up this very week. Improved and larger restrooms
are under construction. The building largely lacked handicapped accessibility, but that was being corrected just last week with the installation of a mechanized wheelchair lift along the stairwell from the basement to top level.
A large loading dock and garage-size door have been cut into the building’s back wall and empty right onto the stage. The bridging and rigging over the stage are up. All new sound and lighting systems are in. Modern equipment has been installed in the industrial kitchen adjacent to the renovated ballroom. Walls and ceilings have been repaired and repainted. Everything – all electrical, plumbing, etc. – have
been brought up to code. So many holes have been drilled through the concrete floors and walls of the
Scottish Rite that “we call it the Swiss cheese building,” joked Parkhurst.
Not everyone notices those things, but they are critical to enhancing the experience of theater patrons and other visitors.
What they will notice is the stunning stained glass that has been cleaned and repaired and, in some cases, replaced, with the cloudy plexiglass that previously obscured its natural beauty removed and covered by another protective barrier. The original chandeliers have been refurbished and outfitted with modern theater lighting. There is a new, state-of-the-art control board. The new stage curtains have arrived and are ready for installation. The piano room is almost ready for the Steinway Concert Grand piano, still awaiting shipment from St. Louis. The final cosmetic touches will represent the next stage over the next two months after all the dust settles – new carpets and other floor coverings, a little more painting, etc.
In so many ways, it still looks like the old building, and yet it doesn’t, especially inside. “We’re repurposing a lot of the light fixtures, the furniture,” said Parkhurst. “We wanted to balance preserving the original intent of the architecture ... with current needs.” Still, the pandemic has made it difficult to plan a grand opening or build an entertainment schedule. The December performance of “A Christmas Carol,’ a longtime, much-loved Scottish Rite tradition, had to be postponed until next year.
“The whole industry is just so uncertain,” said Parkhurst, who is looking into filming some performances and live-streaming them online if the next few months can’t bring an audience to the Scotty in person. Blickenstaff, the central Illinois born-and-raised, California-based biotech entrepreneur and philanthropist, purchased the Scottish Rite at 400 NE Perry Ave. in April of 2019, and thus far has sunk more than $6 million into its renovation. “I know what it takes to deal with the public’s needs ... We just keep asking for what we need to make it work,” said Parkhurst.
At this point, though the ongoing pandemic makes a timetable difficult to predict with any specificity, KDB Group is looking to the first quarter of 2021 for some kind of grand opening, even if it’s just for smaller, private gatherings at first.
“The public has to be patient, because the payoff is so significant on the back side,” promised Parkhurst. “It’s worth the wait.”