The Heartbeat of A Small Town

When the Iowa Theater closed in July 2015, on the eve of Winterset’s annual John Wayne Birthday Celebration, everyone was stunned.

Above: the Iowa’s sad 1938 marquee in 2015, unlit, dirty, its 540 lightbulbs broken or missing, its iconic neon tubing long gone—but with a declaration of hope for the theater’s future.

Most of the public didn’t know that Hollywood’s switch in the 2010s to digital-only production made 35mm projectors like the one at The Iowa obsolete. The price of new technology—$75,000 and up—shut off the lights at small town theaters across America and beyond.

Someone needed to do something, and as a lifelong movie lover with a film major among my offspring, I decided that person would be me. Rebecca Fons, my youngest, left her job of ten years at the Chicago Film Festival to come home and help me lead the charge. We purchased the dilapidated building, filled out the 501c3 nonprofit paperwork, hired a local contractor, and started demolition (and fundraising).

During demolition in 2015, once the dropped ceiling came down, the golden arch, its plaster columns broken, its cornices missing, was revealed. The original Vaudeville stage floorboards were still there.

The plaster columns and cornices were reimagined and rebuilt in wood, the stage’s golden arch restored, a red velvet valance (made by me on my Bernina sewing machine) installed. This is The Iowa today.

The renovation included reopening the balcony, considered by many the location of the best seats in the house, including the beloved “make-out row” at the very back.

The state-of-the-art digital projector is behind the mirror-like window way up top left, above the seating. The control booth for live performances by The Winterset Stage, our community’s local theater group, is behind the dark rectangle at the right.

When the theater reopened in May, 2017, fundraising had covered much of the $1.2M cost of the two-year renovation, but almost $500K in debt remained. Winterset’s Farmers & Merchants Bank wrote the loan, at the lowest possible interest rate. Almost every month since then, the theater has made a $2000 payment.

The marquee’s lights stayed on 24/7 in 2020 during the pandemic shutdown, offering hope and encouragement to essential workers driving by at night.

Today, The Iowa is a busy “second-run” movie house, screening new movies not long after they premier, thanks to Rebecca, who’s back in Chicago, now as film curator at the Gene Siskel Film Center. (She snagged “Frozen” for Winterset before theaters in Des Moines.)

A campaign is currently under way to eliminate The Iowa’s remaining debt (around $240K) and create a reserve of funds for future needs, like a new digital projector when the current one flames out. The goal: $300,000, of which less than $85,000 remains.

The “popcorn thermometer” in the lobby shows the rise in donations and three-year pledges. $10,000 donors get Popcorn for Life.

Dear Readers, would you consider a donation? If 850 people would write a check for $100, the campaign would instantly be over, the Iowa Theater made whole, its burdens lifted, its future secure.

Should you feel so inclined, you can mail a donation check directly to me at 104 W. Court Avenue, Winterset 50273. Make checks out to the Iowa Theater. Trust me, I’ll hand-carry the funds down the street to Dan, the capital campaign treasurer. I’ll write you a personal note of thanks, and mail the envelope from the Winterset Post Office. In any case, please send positive vibes.

I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, a group of over 60 journalists and authors writing from and about the great state of Iowa, among them Nicole Baart, Dave Busiek, Art Cullen, and Julie Gammack. Access all of us here.