Plans in the works for Ottawa Center for the Arts' new home

There are few if any who know the Open Table United Church of Christ building in Ottawa as well as Anne Badger and as much as she’s loved her many experiences there, she can’t wait for it to change.

That’s because she knows what’s coming.

“We don’t think of our operation as being exclusively musical performances. We envision a range of artists, (including) visual artists and, if we improve the floor, dance performances.”

—  Anne Badger

The building, located across the street from Washington Square at 910 Columbus St. and formerly known as the First Congregational Church, is now the home of the Ottawa Center for the Arts, a nonprofit entity that envisions bringing every form of entertainment to the people of the Ottawa area, from features speakers and lecturers to musical and choral performances, from exhibitions of fine painting and sculpture to theatrical plays and operatic productions.

The building will remain the home for the Open Table Church, as a tenant conducting its events and services just as it always has, albeit with minor adjustments for renovations.

“We want to open the doors to the public and show them what is a really, really great space,” Badger said. “It is a big ‘room,’ and I say that with quotes because it’s a stately but very inviting space with the stained glass windows, the filtered light and extraordinary acoustics … It’s acoustically equipped for instrumentalists, for singers, for choirs, for chamber ensembles and we know that as we continue to upgrade the facilities that it can be a wonderful space for theatrical performances.

“We don’t think of our operation as being exclusively musical performances. We envision a range of artists, (including) visual artists and, if we improve the floor, dance performances. We’re upgrading with these things in mind and want to do it right. We really want this to be really, really good looking, but it’s actually pretty good right now.”

With the support of the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation, the building was purchased back on Jan. 18. First erected as First Congregational Church in 1870-71 and still listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the structure was the perfect venue for the OCA in more ways than one.

Not only does it have the needed meeting spaces, kitchen, restrooms and seating for 400 in the second-floor sanctuary, it also contains a “high-functioning and well-maintained” Schantz pipe organ and a grand piano – the latter a “much-appreciated gift” from Open Table – to go along with the acoustics to allow those instruments and whatever performers enter to shine in the most profound way.

“I might not have been so committed to making this the Ottawa Center for the Arts has I not known what a great performance space it could be,” said Badger, who is not only a member of the First Congregational Church and Open Table Church, she has also served as their organist, has taught piano and organ there and is a member of the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra. “Professionals, people who are just passing through or people that have grown up and here and gone on to careers in music, are all begging to perform in this space.”

With the building secured, the focus turned to the fundraising process already underway. There have been substantial donations made and there is interest evolving in local businesses.

Having had a new roof and wiring done fairly recently, one of the first major steps of the actual renovation will be to repair the elevator to the second floor. There is a long staircase to that floor that is in excellent shape, but it is not handicapped accessible without the elevator.

That, however, will have to wait until it can be done as part of the overall design of the renovation. According to the SRCCF website, the expected cost of the as-yet undetermined renovations to be in excess of $350,000.

“The building is in pretty good shape,” Badger said, “so it’s not like we have to wait forever for the next step. We’re working on accessibility. We will be putting our own website out there. There will be new signage. We’re letting the people know we’re here and hopefully in late spring there will be a grand opening leading into a soft summer season. We are open to suggestions for the kind of events people want to see.

“This is really a community project and it needs a strong team to lead it because it is also an ambitious project … The people on the board of directors are people who want to make things happen and they are very committed to this project. We’re very, very excited about it.”