SCHAEFER CENTER CONSIDERED HISTORIC BY GEORGIA HISTORIC PRESERVATION DIVISION

The Schaefer Center has recently undergone façade renovations and because of these renovations, will now be reviewed for consideration as contributing to the National Register Historic District. With a $15,000 grant award from the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and Georgia Council for the Arts, and a local match of $15,000 from the city’s grant fund, the Schaefer Center received a historic facelift.  The GDEcD tourism product development grant was awarded for the restoration of the art deco stucco façade and architectural elements of the original 1939 Ritz Movie Theater. Phase II of the project, which was funded by the GDEcD grant, was to remove the brick veneer façade and contemporary lighting fixtures and repair the stucco underneath.  Phase III provided for the following: entry alcove repair, installation of  a stone cap on the top of the building, façade painting, reconstruction of two original surface mounted poster inserts,  installation of doors and three square upper story windows, and a ticket window. Paint samples were taken and analyzed by historic preservation consultants in order to determine the original color of each section of the façade. Thus the façade reflects the original paint colors of the Ritz Theater.  The façade renovation further establishes the Schaefer Center as a contributing piece to Toccoa’s regional heritage and cultural tourism.

With the removal of the false facade and completion of the building’s exterior renovation, the GA Department of Natural Resources was contacted to determine if the Schaefer Center would now qualify for additional historic preservation funding. “We would propose to extend the current boundary of the Toccoa Downtown Historic District to Broad Street (on that one block) to take in the theater.  At the time the [National Register] nomination was completed, the theater was determined not contributing to the district due to the false façade.  We believe that it now contributes to the district,” says Lynn Speno, National Register Specialist of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Historic Preservation Division (HPD).  With that information made available, two additional grant applications are in process; one for the HPD Georgia Heritage Grant Program and another for the Tourism Product Development Grant for balcony renovations (which would be Phase VI). Additional information will also be provided to the Georgia DNR with regards to the history of the Schaefer Center along with a request to have the building included in the National Register of Historic Places.  According to Ms. Speno, the next Review Board Meeting will be held in February 2015. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded nonprofit organization which works to save America’s historic places, like the Schaefer Center.

Planning for future theater renovation projects continues. Phase V of the Schaefer Center restoration will include the reconstruction of the historic marquee.  A grant application has been submitted to the Fox Theatre Institute for the Phase V project construction.  Grant award notification will be the end of August. With the Schaefer Center façade renovation, the Toccoa Downtown Development Authority continues to improve the viability and appearance of one of the historic anchors in the downtown.

“The Schaefer Center renovation is one of the major goals for both the Toccoa City Commission and Downtown Development Authority,” said Community Development Director Connie Tabor.  “We are very optimistic that additional funding options will be made available, with the restoration of the original Schaefer Center façade; we will continue to strive for additional preservation opportunities.” [Phase I Schaefer Center Project consisted of the interior lobby and auditorium renovation and Phase IV was the installation of a new roof, both items have been completed.]