Three weeks into 2023, Woodburn celebrated the reopening of the downtown Bungalow Theater and Woodburn Museum.
That reopening, which was ceremoniously recognized Friday evening, Jan. 20, brought to fruition a long-anticipated project.
“This is not a little effort that has brought this together,” Woodburn Mayor Frank Lonergan said. “It started many years ago, but primarily just the last few years. You know, those from the city that helped from the budget process, getting the money (available), then getting the people lined up, and then the volunteers that had ideas, working with the contractors — not an easy effort with everything that has been done here.”
City staff, under the direction of Woodburn Community Services Director Jesse Cuomo, guided a bevy of contributors to the project, ranging from civic volunteers to specialized contractors.
“It’s been a lot of work from a lot of people; hundreds and hundreds of hours from a ton of people — volunteers, staff, things like that in different phases of this project,” Cuomo said, tipping his hat to the various contributing contractors. “It’s an old building, so there were hiccups here and there. We made it work, and I’m just really proud to see it all come together.”
Cuomo said the first phase of the project involved seismic updating and replacing the roof, which included a new skylight. The next phase involved remodeling the facades with new storefronts. The final phase involved interior remodeling with lighting upgrades, new theater seats and flooring along with new modernized equipment.
Project funding sources included an Oregon Cultural Trust grant received by the Friends of the Bungalow Theatre and written in partnership with city of Woodburn staff; an Oregon Main Street Revitalization grant; Oregon Heritage Museum grants; and Woodburn Urban Renewal funding.
The building will be available for rental, school tours and possibly classes. City sources noted that movies will be shown at this time on a seasonal basis for special events, with additional programming coming in the next several months.
