Hillsdale’s Tax Increment Financing Authority will hold an auction at the Dawn Theater Saturday, Nov. 10 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., where people will have the opportunity to purchase items from within the historic theatre.
Mary Wolfram, Hillsdale’s TIFA consultant, said the funds from the auction will help purchase new audio-video equipment for the Dawn Theater once it has been rehabilitated.
Brant Cohen ’18, an associate for C.L. Real Estate LLC, added that the auction will help TIFA turn the new building into a working theatre.
“It’s kinda hard to show off a beautiful, new building and have the old equipment that’s there,” Cohen said. “We wanna make everything look really nice, and by selling these items on TIFA’s behalf, it allows TIFA to purchase newer items to really provide a top-notch, quality experience for this theatre.”
Items for sale include tables, chairs, kitchen equipment, and glassware. Wolfram said there will also be two large TVs for sale that were previously used to show Monday Night Football.
In addition to these items, Wolfram said the current marquee sign is for sale. According to Wolfram, the marquee and yellow board on the front of the building both need to be removed in order to restore the original windows and facade on the front of the building.
Wolfram said she is very grateful for the volunteers on the Dawn Theater Governance Board who helped prepare all of the items for auction.
“We’ve all been in there a couple of weekends in a row now, getting the items ready to be at an auction, and it was a lot of work, and it’s a lot of work still,” Wolfram said.
James Brandon, professor and chairman of theatre and dance, is one of the volunteers on the Dawn Theater Governance Board.
“It’s always nice to be involved in something that you know is gonna make the community you’re living in better, that’s exciting,” Brandon said.
Brandon said he began working on this project while everything was still in the idea stage, but he is happy to finally see tangible moves being made within the Dawn Theater.
“You get into some of these renewal projects, and they can linger on forever,” Brandon said, “but we’re really cleaning out the place so it can move into its constructional and architectural phase soon.”
While preparing some items for auction, Brandon said he came across an old film projector up in the booth and a poster from a Charlie Chaplin movie.
“The poster is faded, and it’s crumbling, but it’s really neat to see that,” Brandon said. “The legacy that this theatre had as a movie theatre during the silent era was pretty amazing.”
Cohen said the auction is a perfect opportunity for the Hillsdale community to promote the restoration and preservation of the Dawn Theater.
“It also gives people a chance to take a look and remember what the building looked like as it was and remember these items that they’re buying were part of its past,” Cohen said, “and now we’re going to be looking at the future of it.”
Brandon echoed Cohen and said he is looking forward to seeing how the restoration impacts downtown Hillsdale. He said the rehabilitated Dawn Theater will give people another reason to visit Hillsdale.
“I’ve lived here for 21 years, and it’s always been there, and it’s gone through a number of different styles of management and venue,” Brandon said. “It’ll be nice to see it treated as the historical landmark it is.”
Wolfram said people must be able to remove the items they purchase. While the items do not need to be moved the day of the auction, Wolfram said TIFA will not be taking down the larger items for bidders, like the marquee sign and mounted TVs.
For a full inventory list, contact Mary Wolfram by phone: (517) 437-7351 or email: tifa@cityofhillsdale.org.