VENICE, Fla. — One of the communities impacted by Hurricane Ian a year ago was the city of Venice. The storm damaged parts of the historic Venice Theatre.
Built in 1926, the back wall of the building could not withstand Ian’s force. The theatre’s roof was damaged when that back wall caved in and let in lots of water that damaged lighting, furniture and other part of the building. But what wasn’t lost was the resiliency to restore what has been a community staple to its original glory.
Leaders of the Venice Theatre say the demolition of the damaged back wall area is set to begin within days.
Their hope is to keep the reconstruction timeline on track to have the building back up by the end of 2024. The one-year anniversary of the hurricane marks an opportunity for them to kick up fundraising efforts in order to meet that goal.
“That’s what I brought a small gift that we need to rebuild this means so much to the community,” Kathryn Killinger of Venice said.
Killinger is a 40-year-long patron and volunteer of the Venice Theatre. She said she had just seen a show on the main ‘Jervey’ stage days before Ian destroyed it.
“Oh, I couldn’t believe it. The whole back of the theatre out, the theatre is gone. Quite heartbreaking really because it meant so much,” Killinger said.
One year after the storm struck, theater officials report they have completed the permitting, paperwork and planning stages of the rebuilding process.
“The demo is going to be, take the ground to ground level for this side because the steel beams were twisted by the hurricane so they have to be removed and new steel beams put in as we build back up,” Kristopher Geddie, executive director for the Venice Theatre, said.
Geddie said the estimated cost for the rebuilding and reconstruction of the theater is between $14-16 million including funding from insurance coverage. However, they still need to raise an additional $8.4 million to cover some of those costs.
“Today is in fact the day of giving, so we’re asking everyone to give today because every dollar today up to $500,000 is matched,” Geddie said.
“Hopefully it’ll be built back bigger and better than ever and that all of the young people that are taking classes and so forth will be performing here one day,” Killinger added.
In the meantime, the show does go on here at a converted stage in the Raymond Center building, and the black box Pinkerton Theatre in the main building is also open with shows currently running there as well.
“Above all, we thank this community and the greater Tampa Bay area for helping to make sure this theatre comes back," Geddie said.
To find out more about fundraising efforts and how to support the theater – visit Venice Theatre