July 11, 1976

Richmond Palladium-Item

By Harold Wiley

LEWISVILLE – The Raintree County Opera House Guild, Inc., will have open house at the Guyer Opera House here—which it hopes to restore—from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 18.

Dick Willis of Lewisville, one of the chairmen for an open house Thursday for area media representatives, said the July 18 open house for the general public, will be the first day of a fund-raising campaign to acquire and begin restoration of the opera house, which first opened in 1902.

He said the money for the project will be obtained through the sale of memberships in the guild. He said as interest in the project grows, the group will apply for government grants and aid from various foundations. The guild is a non-profit organization.

The guild aims to acquire, restore and operate the Guyer Opera House as a museum theater "capable of producing modern drama as well as to provide the greater Raintree County area with a much needed small auditorium," according to information released by the guild to media open house visitors.

The guild also plans to sponsor events such as Summer Theater, children’s theater, film festivals and lectures, and to have the auditorium and lobby area available for meetings, style shows, recitals and other community projects.

The guild’s name comes from Ross Lockridge’s novel, "Raintree County," the setting of which is the Henry County area of Indiana.

Plans for the restoration of the two-story brick opera house, located on the north side of U.S. 40 in the western section of Lewisville, involve four phases.

The first phase, with a completion date of June 1977, is to acquire the building and make it functional for dramatic productions. This first phase will include new plumbing, wiring, air-conditioning, heating and making the building comply with modern safety regulations.

The second phase will be to restore the exterior of the building and furnish the theater lobby in a Victorian style. Phase three will be to complete the restoration of the auditorium area of the building, and the fourth phase will be adding a production area at the rear of the structure.

The theater itself is on the second floor of the building. The auditorium is a square room, 50 feet on each side, with a tiered seating area capable of accommodating 350 persons.

The stage has a beveled style proscenium arch with the opera house’s original gaslight fixtures. Much of the original stage equipment is present and usable. Four dressing rooms, with gaslight fixtures and playbills of early 1900s performers, are usable also.

Inspection by the Administrative Building Council of Indiana and the State Fire Marshal’s Office have permitted the guild to proceed with the project.

The first phase of restoration will require $50,000. The building price is $15,000, and architects estimate the cost of initial restoration at $35,000.

The opera house is named for Dr. O. K. Guyer, a Lewisville physician who is referred to as "the guiding light of the project." The house presented plays of stock companies from Indianapolis and other theatrical areas, and was used for various community events. The building was closed in 1942 because of the hazard presented by the pot-bellied stoves used to heat it.

K. P. Singh, an Indianapolis artist, will display pints during the July 18 open house.

Willis said the guild’s address is P.O. Box 117, Lewisville.