No more flooding: DeSoto begins preservation project
For the first time in decades, Rome’s iconic DeSoto Theatre will have water running only in places it should.
Recently, the historic theater has been threatened with water from the outside seeping into the building’s foundation and threatening the stage and backstage areas.
A $200,000 water drainage system and retention wall project started in December is the first step in a new infrastructure plan to ensure the integrity of the building as the DeSoto moves into its second century as a center of cultural and artistic expression in Northwest Georgia.
Funded completely by community donations for capital improvements, the project sets the stage for future stage and backstage work that can only be considered once these crucial issues are addressed.
“For years, after particularly rainy periods, we would find water in the backstage hallway and the main floor dressing rooms,” said Jim Powell, the foundation’s president. “We noticed that in some spots the flooring would need to be replaced because water damage had made it unstable. We knew then that we had a long-term water problem that needed to be fixed as soon as the funds could be raised.”
COMMUNITY RALLIES AROUND THE DESOTO
Foundation board member David Clonts is a licensed general contractor and serves as the board liaison with all subcontractors.
“Because I’ve been a part of Northwest Georgia’s builder community for more than 40 years, I know how important it is
to choose local suppliers and subcontractors when possible,” Clonts said. “We’ve retained Matt Little of Matt Little and Associates to pour the wall that is the center of this project and are thrilled with the progress so far.”
Clonts says the DeSoto Foundation is also working with other local companies to complete every step of the project. Several of these companies have donated materials, a generous and welcome contribution to an expensive project long in the making.
The retention wall will be 12 ft. high by 80 ft. long, taking up the entire back of the theatre, then turning down the side of the building. Building the wall will create a 13 ft. wide by 80 ft. long paved area that will give wide access to the rear of the building.
The Historic DeSoto Theatre Foundation had to acquire full ownership of the common alley before it could build the retaining wall and was finally able to complete the transaction last year, Clonts said. The old, crumbling, retaining wall that brought mud and debris to the back of the DeSoto is finally gone, opening new possibilities for the future of the theatre.
FUTURE ACCESS TO THE STAGE AND BACKSTAGE
Once the water drainage project and the retaining wall are completed, the accessible space behind the DeSoto will see new activity. Future stage and backstage plans call for a loading dock and roll up door. This will facilitate bringing equipment and scenery into the building, a welcome change that will contribute to increased usage of the theatre by the community.
Because the DeSoto was originally built for “talkie” movies in 1929, it has never had the proper backstage access usually seen in most performance theatres, Clonts said. After 40 years with a performance stage that had to be fit into the original footprint and thus didn’t truly address the needs of live theater, the DeSoto is the closest it has ever been to having appropriate backstage access. All that’s needed, he said, is for the community to continue to rally behind the DeSoto with additional donations.
The Historic DeSoto Theatre Foundation was established in 2008 to lead a community effort to restore, maintain and operate the DeSoto Theatre as a historical, cultural and economic asset. Maintenance of a 93year old theatre is expensive and ongoing. Tax-deductible donations to the Annual Fund or to Capital Projects can be made online at www.thedesoto.org, by mailing a check to: HDTF, 530 Broad Street, Rome, GA 30161, or by calling Historic DeSoto Theatre Foundation Development Director Michelle Picon at 706-802-9160.