Guided tour · 6 stops

Saving the Hardacre

How a small town raised the money to buy its theater after it went dark in 2013, and what still lies ahead.

  1. August 2013

    Lights out

    Rising film rental costs and the price of converting to digital projection made the Hardacre impossible to keep running, and it closed.

    Ask the guide
    From the archive: Restoration — Why it closed
  2. Dec 2013 – early 2014

    Racing to buy it

    A new preservation group launched a crowdfunding drive with a $60,500 goal. Donations passed $114,000, and it bought the building for its assessed value of $96,100.

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    From the archive: Restoration — By the numbers
  4. April 23, 2016

    A hundredth birthday

    Centennial weekend was planned around a plaque unveiling with Governor Terry Branstad and a fundraising party with dueling pianos at the Cedar County Fairgrounds.

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    From the archive: Restoration — Timeline
  5. The plan

    Movies, stage and community

    The restoration aims to keep it a cinema while bringing back live theater, traveling shows, music and community gatherings. A 2016 estimate put the work at about $3.8 million, "from the roof down to the basement."

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    From the archive: Restoration — What the plan calls for
  6. Today

    Not yet reopened

    The most recent public reports we found describe restoration as ongoing, with the theater not yet reopened. For current news, follow the association's own channels.

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    From the archive: Restoration — Timeline

Ask the guide about this tour

Answers come only from the archive and link to their sources.

The guide can make mistakes, so check the linked sources. Questions are limited each day.

More tours

Opening Night, 1916From a will read in 1912 to a packed house on April 13, 1916. Walk Through the BuildingFrom the 1948 marquee to the hidden 1916 arch backstage. Beulah DeNune's TheaterThe woman who ran the Hardacre through the Depression.