Volunteers breathe life into vacant Anderson theater

ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) — A group of Anderson business owners and community leaders are teaming up to fix a downtown eyesore.

The State Theater building has sat vacant more than a decade and some locals say they’re sick of seeing the run down property. A group teamed up with the building’s owner to do something about it.

A team of volunteers met Wednesday to set up decorations displayed in the building’s front windows.

Judy Nagengast gathered the volunteers to help decorate. She works two blocks from the theater and she said she’s tired of seeing the eyesore.

“I realized it wouldn’t take that much to make it look pretty good, and so that’s why I decided to do this,” Nagengast said.

Now, in the front windows, the county historical society is showing off part of an exhibit, and a local business owner is showing off his decorations.

Meanwhile, contractors are working on the interior.

The building is owned by Marla Rochlin, who lives in Los Angeles but was in Anderson on Wednesday.

“Our goal is to restore it as best we can to its original beauty and make it a functional entertainment venue for the community,” Rochlin said.

Rochlin said over the next couple weeks her team will fix the marquee, and volunteers from the YMCA and other organizations will finish a display in front.

Linda Jones of the Madison County Historical Society said she remembers a time when the seats were full. Rochlin said she’s not sure on her exact plans for the future, but Jones is optimistic.

“We’ve had so many things in town shut down that it’s nice to see it happening. It’s a good thing for downtown,” Jones said.