Passage
The old theater had everything a restoration crew could 1 dread, a leaking roof, a warped stage, and seats bolted to a floor that had begun to buckle. For years the Rialto had stood dark at the end of Main Street, its marquee missing half its letters, while the town argued about what to do with it. The town council was at first reluctant 2 on committing public money to a building most residents had written off.
3 Built in 1926, volunteers discovered that the theater still had its original pipe organ hidden behind a false wall. The pipes, freed from behind the panel, proved largely intact. A committee of local business owners 4 were formed to raise the first ten thousand dollars. Once the leaking roof was finally patched, the crew 5 begins the slow work of drying out the water-stained ceiling. Neither the architect nor the volunteers 6 was prepared for the damage behind the plaster.
7 Nevertheless, the first ten thousand dollars arrived within a month, most of it in small donations from families who remembered seeing their first film at the Rialto. 8 Bake sales, a benefit concert, and a jar on the counter of every downtown shop kept the money coming. 9 With the money in hand, the committee turned from raising funds to the harder task of rebuilding.
When the Rialto finally reopened, 10 it's marquee was relit for the first time in thirty years. The organist 11 that had played at the Rialto as a boy returned to test the restored pipes. Workers replaced the marquee bulbs one by one12, it was painstaking work. Over two years, the crew 13 restored the lobby's plaster moldings to their original detail. The restoration taught the town about patience, about compromise, and 14 how to be generous. 15
