BEMIDJI — With a laundry list of issues like a leaky roof and outdated plumbing at the Historic Chief Theater, the Paul Bunyan Playhouse Board of Directors hopes to restore the venue to its former glory.
The art deco-style building has been part of a lot of change over the decades since it was built in the 1930s. As a movie house, it brought Hollywood to Bemidji for about 50 years, shuttering in the 1980s after the Amigo Theater was built west of town.
About a decade later, the building was repurposed to be the new home of Bemidji’s professional summer stock theater company: the Paul Bunyan Playhouse.
The only season ever called off in the Paul Bunyan Playhouse’s 73-year run was 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic — which had long-lasting impacts on live entertainment venues across the country.
The Wallace Foundation — a New York-based nonprofit centered on youth arts education — said nationwide, nonprofit theaters were struggling to build audiences before COVID-19. As the last of the COVID-19 relief has to be declared before the end of 2024, nonprofit theaters continue to seek ways to increase revenues.
The Playhouse put on three shows last summer for what 36-year-old Erik Bergsven called an “emergency season,” as the Board plans five shows for the 74th season in 2025.
Bergsven stepped up to lead the Paul Bunyan Playhouse Board of Directors as its president in April. As a Bemidji High School and Bemidji State graduate, he said he greatly appreciates the work of past boards for keeping the Chief a cornerstone of Bemidji’s art community.
“There's so much work that goes into everything. So really [we’re] just seeing and looking at how much work needs to be done — and it's not like work hasn't been being done in the past," Bergsven said. "It's just with [a] nonprofit, there's always something that can be needed.”
As a possible contender for the National Registry of Historic Places, the building and its restoration could be financially supported through certain tax credits and grant-in-aid programs, but with strings attached.
“I think it would be very important for us. I think there are things we'd want to get accomplished first before we do that, but it's definitely in the conversation," Bergsven said. "I think it's definitely something we as a community could be proud of if we get that on there.”
The Chief is Bemidji’s only remaining building that fits the art deco architectural style, which first appeared in Paris in the early 1910s. The style flourished in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1920s and ‘30s, influencing skyscrapers, bridges, ocean liners and many movie houses.
The bold geometric forms and contrast of art deco eventually molded into the streamline moderne style. The David Park House near the Bemidji State University campus has been on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1988, as one of the state’s few examples of the residential style.
Bemidji has a handful of other historic buildings on the registry, all added during the 1980s: the original Beltrami County Courthouse in the beaux arts style, the Great Northern Depot and the Bemidji Carnegie Library.
The Carnegie Library’s recent transformation highlights how lengthy and expensive a historical renovation project can be for public and nonprofit groups.
Numerous stakeholders, including a city-appointed steering committee, began work to preserve and repair the Carnegie Library in 2012, with the $2.2 million project completed in 2019.
Whether the Board signs contracts or leases the Chief to community groups, the Playhouse is reaching for year-round entertainment as a financially stabilizing step toward restoration.
“In the future, [we’re] offering this venue to other things other than just theater itself,” Bergsven said, noting the board was open to leasing the space for a wide variety of interested groups and even private events like weddings.
Bergsven said with a new board of directors, fresh ideas are coming forward for all seasons at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse and the Historic Chief Theater.
“I'm just very, very happy with the people that have wanted to donate their time and are willing to do it, because we've really got a diverse board of backgrounds when it comes to working in finance — whether it's working [with the] Jaycees, interest in theater or just interest in business in general, and how they can help,” Bergsven said. “I'm very, very proud of the work that we're putting in.”
The Playhouse hopes to soon launch a more publicized fundraiser to help with restoring the Historic Chief Theater, after surpassing its recent Give to the Max Day goal of $5,000, according to Bergsven.
"I know that sustaining donors or previous donors or anything, you could probably be like, ‘What's going on?’ We completely understand your frustration and we want to get you the best answer that we can,” Bergsven said. “So hold on. Stay tuned. We're getting things together, so you can have a venue that really is ... a mainstay again downtown.”
