PORT ANGELES — Yes, it disappeared, and yes, some thought the deal was dead.
But the Light up the Lincoln Theater campaign is back on track with two public events coming soon, its fundraising pair, Scott Nagel and Karen Powell, said Monday.
Nagel started the whole drive last winter when he announced plans to transform the Lincoln, downtown’s shuttered movie house, into a nonprofit performing arts center, a venue for concerts, film festivals, musicals, plays and even company parties and stand-up comedy.
He and Powell, his wife and business partner, made an offer of $235,000 on the place. Their plan included raising that money from pledges, and during February, March and early April, $175,000 came in.
But by late March, it became clear that Nagel had to undergo a hip replacement. He was in severe pain for a full month before having the operation in Seattle on April 28.
The first recovery phase took six weeks, and now Nagel is pain-free. He’s having physical therapy — when he’s not talking about the theater. To purchase it, Nagel and Powell need another $60,000 in pledges by — they hope — summer’s end.
The plans for a reborn theater are outlined on the Light up the Lincoln page at www.RevitalizePortAngeles.org, along with a link to the pledge form. And Nagel, as before, takes calls and emails for information at 360-808-3940 and LightUpTheLincoln@gmail.com.
Back in February, Nagel and architect Michael Gentry produced a preliminary design for the new Lincoln: a 30-by-30-foot stage and 500 seats on the main floor and balcony.
This week, Nagel has an updated design, one that would have space below the stage for a dance floor or cabaret tables while still providing seats for 440 people.
“It has to be the community’s gathering place,” said Powell, adding that people will have a chance to discuss the Lincoln’s future in a free forum Thursday, June 25, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
In this meeting in the upstairs conference room at The Landing mall, 115 E. Railroad Ave., state Arts Commission executive director Karen Hanan will talk about how other historic movie theaters around the West have been restored, how the Lincoln could secure grant funding from the state and how the theater fits into the “creative economy,” as in the ecosystem of arts groups, businesses and audiences.
At the meeting, “it’s really important for people to challenge, ask questions and push back,” said Powell.
Later this summer, Nagel and Powell will invite the public to a Saturday open house at the Lincoln Theater itself.
“We’ll show movies, we’ll have hot dogs and we’ll have a music and dance performance,” said Nagel, adding the open house will be another chance for people to donate toward the theater’s purchase.
When he first made the offer on the Lincoln, owned by Sun Basin Theatres of Wenatchee, Nagel had a late February deadline for raising the $235,000; when pledges didn’t meet the goal, he got a 30-day extension. The March 23 deadline passed with the tally still falling short.
Yet “the seller is real understanding,” said Dan Gase, the Coldwell Banker-Uptown Realty agent handling the property.
Sun Basin wants to keep working with Nagel and Powell, he said, even if the theater is still for sale as it says on the marquee.
There have been showings of the Lincoln, Gase added, but no other offers are on the table.
But we have to ask: What if someone else does swoop in and buy the Lincoln before the fundraisers reach their goal?
“Then we will have tried our best,” Nagel said with a smile.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
