Is the Wheaton Grand Theater closer to opening?

Scaffolding outside the Wheaton Grand Theater has caused some buzz recently about the building's long-awaited restoration.

"It's moving, and we're excited," said Rick Erickson, consultant for the Grand Theater Corp., the nonprofit group that is spearheading efforts to restore the theater. "We're going to make it an economic engine in Wheaton. We're going to have something for everybody."

Erickson said the scaffolding was put up this spring in downtown to restore parts of the building's facade, including several heavy urns lining the rooftop that date to the theater's opening in 1925.

The urns and their bases have been restored and will be put back in their original place by next week. The scaffolding, however, likely will remain until the end of the month, as more facade work needs to be done, including some brick replacement, tuck pointing and work on the terra cotta.

Still, overall, there is a lot of work that needs to be done before the theater can be opened again for concerts, movies and community events. Erickson said the plan is to do front-of-house restoration first, including the lobby, before working east through the rest of the theater.

An architect is almost done with a draft of the front-of-house plans, which Erickson said will be submitted soon to the city's building department for review.

Inside, some demolition and drainage improvements already have been completed. Temporary walls have been removed and remediation is also complete.

The most recent development for the interior occurred this week, when the corporation was contacted by the owner of the theater's original organ, who has the instrument in his home in St. Louis. He has agreed to donate the organ to the corporation and people in the Wheaton community already are reaching out to Erickson, asking how they can help with its transport and restoration.

As for fundraising, the corporation is in the process of having private conversations with people who have an interest in history, restoration and Wheaton who might be able to provide financial support. In addition, Erickson said a capital campaign strategy, which will include estimates for how much money needs to be raised before the theater can reopen, is nearing completion.

The corporation hopes to host some awareness-raising events this summer and later this year to keep the entire community informed about what is going on. Supporters are considering hosting another Wheaton's Got Talent event, which Erickson said wasn't "a huge moneymaker" in 2013 but raised "huge awareness."

Erickson recently had individual meetings with every city council member, the city manager and the mayor too, to discuss the theater's future and the corporation's plans.

"We wanted them to have a fresh understanding of what we're doing," he said. "I left very encouraged by them. It went well."