Photo courtesy of The MabelLast Thursday I was one of more than 150 people invited to the reception honoring the most recent praise to come the way of the Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Historical Society’s 2008 Historic Preservation Award recognizes the best restoration of a Wisconsin historic property.
This building has for many years been a part of my life: as a volunteer, as a theater patron, and as an audience member. It is an example of a perfectly preserved Victorian theater—now with hidden sprinkler systems and handicapped access. The reception was an opportunity for me not only to participate in the celebration and talk to many friends, but also to introduce myself as the writer of the upcoming book on the Tainter to many of the players in the restoration. These included the principal of the main architecture firm overseeing the renovation, Charles Liddy, Jr. of Miller Dunwiddie in Minneapolis, the Vice President of the financing bank, JeriLynn Young of US Bancorp, and others. I’ll be contacting them over the next 12 months as I finish my book proposal and begin writing in earnest. To read a fuller account of the evening, see the article by my friend and editor at the Dunn County News, Deb Anderson, at http://www.dunnconnect.com/articles/2008/09/08/variety/doc48c554d0730a1485105743.txt
Oh, and I loved learning from the Board President Carolyn Barnhart that they all refer to the theater as—not the Tainter as I in my ignorance have been—but as The Mabel. So from now on, I’ll do so as well!
This building has for many years been a part of my life: as a volunteer, as a theater patron, and as an audience member. It is an example of a perfectly preserved Victorian theater—now with hidden sprinkler systems and handicapped access. The reception was an opportunity for me not only to participate in the celebration and talk to many friends, but also to introduce myself as the writer of the upcoming book on the Tainter to many of the players in the restoration. These included the principal of the main architecture firm overseeing the renovation, Charles Liddy, Jr. of Miller Dunwiddie in Minneapolis, the Vice President of the financing bank, JeriLynn Young of US Bancorp, and others. I’ll be contacting them over the next 12 months as I finish my book proposal and begin writing in earnest. To read a fuller account of the evening, see the article by my friend and editor at the Dunn County News, Deb Anderson, at http://www.dunnconnect.com/articles/2008/09/08/variety/doc48c554d0730a1485105743.txt
Oh, and I loved learning from the Board President Carolyn Barnhart that they all refer to the theater as—not the Tainter as I in my ignorance have been—but as The Mabel. So from now on, I’ll do so as well!
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