DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS, Fla. — It’s been nearly a year since Hurricane Ian hit, and on Thursday, an iconic theatre in downtown Fort Myers got some of the money it needs to make millions of dollars in repairs.
The Florida Repertory Theatre received more than half a million dollars from the state despite the fact the state almost rejected helping the theatre rebuild.
The old arcade theatre was built back in 1908, which makes it 115 years old, and once showed some of Thomas Edison’s first movies. It was also a vaudeville house, and it fell into disrepair in the late 1980s. It was revived in the 1990s and flourished, but then Hurricane Ian hit and took its toll on the theater.
Kayla Prough is an intern at the Florida Rep and is working in the old theatre.
“I think there is something really beautiful about going to a theatre and having that original look to it,” Prough said.
That’s despite water from the Caloosahatchee River filling parts of the old theatre during Hurricane Ian.
Janice Danzig is chairman of the Florida Repertory Board of Directors and said the theatre had 6 feet of water in the orchestra pit, and a year later, the walls are cut out from water damage, and carpet is missing. The entire rooftop needs to be replaced.
“We had over $2 million worth of damage,” Danzig said.
The $750,000 from Florida taxpayers was included in the governor’s budget, but State Representative Spencer Roach, who fought for the money, said it almost didn’t happen.
“We faced a really alarming threat of veto there when the turkey watch list came out, an organization that seeks to flag wasteful spending,” Roach noted.
In the end, lawmakers said they persuaded the governor the money was needed.
“The funds going into this project will bring a huge return on investment. Not only for the immediate future but generations to come,” said State Representative Jenna Persons-Mulicka.
The check from the state comes one day after some lawmakers, including State Senator Jonathan Martin, called for more accountability of state money being handed out.
“I have all the confidence that the money coming here is going to be used appropriately,” Martin said.
Lawmakers agreed the money was an investment to ensure generations in the future will continue to enjoy the historic theatre.
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