PUBLISHED ON September 9, 2009
By PAT MUIR YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
YAKIMA, Wash. -- The ceremonial gold-painted shovels turning dirt Tuesday at the Capitol Theatre are the same ones the city of Yakima supplies for groundbreakings throughout the year, but speakers at the event insisted this was no ordinary groundbreaking.
Construction of the $9.4 million production center on the back side of the theater on South Third Street will allow it to accommodate large, Broadway-style productions and add a second performance space for smaller productions.
The Capitol, which opened in 1920 and was rebuilt after a 1975 fire, is an anchor for downtown Yakima -- one that will now remain culturally relevant in the future, said former state Sen. Jim Clements, R-Selah.
"It is a permanent symbol of who we are, who we were and who we are going to be," said Clements, who along with the late state Rep. Mary Skinner, R-Yakima, spearheaded the program through which the theater has received more than $7 million in state tax money for the project.
The work that began ceremoniously Tuesday actually began a couple of weeks ago, when heavy machines began digging a basement behind the theater.
That part of phase one should be done by winter, leaving a concrete slab at ground level that will accommodate loading and unloading for large productions, said Steve Caffery, president and CEO of the theater. The rest of phase one, including the first-floor production center, the 500-seat Black Box Theatre on the second floor and a 2,800-square-foot patio, should be done by next summer, he said.
"It is now taking the first footsteps of our future," Caffery said. "It is a day of celebration."
It's also a link to the past. Clements and Mayor Dave Edler both mentioned having attended movies at the theater in their youth and emphasized how integral it is as both a symbol of Yakima and a driver of the ongoing downtown revitalization.
"This Capitol Theatre was one of the things that really meant something to me in my youth. ... You have to work very hard for things that are permanent and beautiful," Clements said.
And Edler called the first phase of the expansion -- part of a larger $14.6 million project funded by the city, county, state and private donors -- "a centerpiece for our economic development strategy."
"From my perspective, the Yakima City Council and staff are all-in for the future phases," he said.
State Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, likewise spoke of the theater's economic impact.
"We are adding to the economic vitality of our Valley," he said. "And this economic vitality will also enhance in a great way our quality of life."
