For many years, the city of Bellevue has struggled with what to do with the landmark Marianne Theater on the edge of its business district. The theater has stood empty and in disrepair despite several attempts to find a plan for its use.
On Wednesday night, the city was no closer to a solution on the property, but Bellevue council members did get an update on the status of the building as efforts have moved forward to work on some cleaning and repairs.
City Administrator Frank Warnock gave a brief update.
“The city’s gone in and removed the old curtains that were tattered and dusty, the carpeting that was dilapidated and torn, smelly and dusty,” said Warnock. “All of the historic lighting fixtures and other items are still there. The seating that was dilapidated and torn, dusty, broken and bent was removed. The crew reassembled some of the seating, and at some point, we’ll make a decision about what to do with those things.”
The roof is still leaking, but the city has engaged a roofing company to inspect it and look at the city hall roof. The plan is to seal it as soon as possible, Warnock said.
“There is no imminent use right now for the Marianne,” said Warnock. “We continue to discuss what to do with it, and we’re looking at perhaps some grant opportunities to try to do that. We’ve had multiple folks come and say, ‘how about this’ or ‘how about that,’ but nobody’s come with any money to do those things. So that’s where we’re at on the Marianne Theater.”
He said the city used some of its American Rescue Plan Act funds for the work on the building, which so far as totaled about $13,000.
“Everybody’s got their opinion about it. I’m always a little bit reluctant to stick my hands in the fire to talk about the Marianne Theater,” said Warnock. “Collectively, we all want to preserve the facade. We would like to have it for a nice use and have it be active and vibrant. That’s our goal,” he said.
The Marianne Theater was built in 1941-42 and was a primary source of entertainment for the communities of Bellevue, Dayton and Newport. The theater closed in the 1990s, and the city purchased the property in 2014. Since then, there has been some interest and ideas for the property, but the city continues to look for a suitable development plan.