The Dawn of a New Era
Written by Doug Goodnough
If you were a student at Hillsdale College, especially before the rise of the Internet, the Dawn Theater probably holds special significance.
Maybe you had your first date there with your future spouse. Or watched blockbusters like Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen. Or even made a mess of the place with your friends during a special showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. For those “more mature” alumni, you might remember the late “Saga” Steve Casai working the aisles as an usher for many years.
Until the mid-1990s, the Dawn was the only show in town when it came to watching new release movies on the big screen.
However, after a reported boiler explosion in 1996, the Dawn’s days as a cinematic option appeared to be over. It reopened in 1998 as a nightclub, and during the next decade Hillsdale students experienced the Dawn in that capacity. A few years later, it continued as a music venue until the building deteriorated to the point where it closed in 2015.
According to Dawn Theater General Manager Gianna Green, ’17, the structure was close to ruin a couple of years ago. The City of Hillsdale and volunteers in the local community have made a concerted effort to save the building that originally opened in 1919 as a home for Vaudeville shows and silent films.
“It was a very long process of restoration,” said Green of the Dawn, which the City of Hillsdale eventually purchased and then used a combination of private and public funding to restore it. “We had a lot of bumps along the way.”
Some of those “bumps” included the COVID-19 pandemic, and some structural issues with the roof that were unexpected.
Green, who also serves as community manager for CL Real Estate Development, the company charged with managing both the Dawn Theater and the nearby Keefer House Hotel restoration projects, said she had distinct memories of the Dawn as a student.
“I came to a few concerts here,” Green said. “My friends ran in band circles, and so they had their own band. The leader of that band actually called the owners of the Dawn and said ‘We want to put on a show.’”
The then-owners agreed, but cautioned there were some limitations. The biggest one: no heat.
“And there was a trap door (on the roof) that was stuck open, and it snowed through the concert,” Green said. “It was a very cool effect that we didn’t pay for. That’s my memory of the Dawn Theater.”
However, it is now the Dawn of a new era. Major restorations were completed in February 2022, and the community got its first peek at the transformation at a pre-opening gala on February 19.
Alumni from a bygone era may remember a dark, dingy welcome when entering the main entrance. The odd color combination of red, blue, black and pink is now replaced with a bright pastel look of white, gray, and black, with some custom stenciling. The balcony offers hints of its past, with some of the slanted wood flooring and two rows of the original theater seating still intact.
Green said the Dawn will serve as a mixed-event facility, perfect for receptions, meetings, and special events for up to 200 people. In fact, the College’s Kappa Kappa Gamma and Chi Omega sororities have their spring formals scheduled there in April.
“Class reunions,” said Green when asked about how alumni can use it. “Come back to the Dawn and have your party here. They are sure to be amazed when they come back to this building.”
Green said the Friends of the Dawn non-profit organization is currently fundraising to add the ability to show movies again in the space, but that may be a year or two out. However, Green, who began as general manager in October 2021, said the Dawn is otherwise open for business.
“I love taking people on tours,” she said. “(My position) turned into the steward of this beautiful place. It was a very unexpected blessing, but I’m very glad for it.”
For more information on the Dawn Theater, visit thedawntheater.com.
*Photos courtesy of Sycamore Lane Photography
Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s new director of Alumni Marketing. He’s looking forward to connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
Published in March 2022