Funds raised for new lobby at Thunder Bay Theatre

Alpena, Mich. — The Thunder Bay Theatre reached their goal of raising $150,000 for a brand new lobby.

It’s phase one of four phases in reconstructing the historic venue. Workers at Thunder Bay Theatre have had their hands full, moving different items around. They’ve been moving files, bins, and other items from the lobby to basement storage. Associate Producing Director Paige Mindock and Producing Artistic Director Jeff Mindock have been at the forefront of the project, ready to watch their dreams become a reality.

“It was really a very humbling sign from the community that what we are doing here is working, and that what we are hoping for and what are goals and dreams are the goals and dreams of this community,” said Jeff Mindock.

The goal is to have the brand new gathering space ready for the summer season of shows. That means preparing for new windows, an open layout, and a new box office with a little bit of old school charm.

“The wall that faces the rest of the lobby, we’re actually going to be cutting a ticket window out of it, so that everybody can look in and see this beautiful tin and still get a little bit of that smell of the cigars,” said Jeff Mindock.

The future site of the new ticket booth used to be a humidor for the Alpena Candy and Cigar Company. Construction will begin in February, so these next few weeks will involve a lot of cleaning and shuffling to help set a certain vibe that the couple plan to install.

“We’re going to keep our old beautiful bricks and our beautiful hardwood, the tin ceiling, and all of those antiques we love,” said Paige Mindock. “We’re going very dark with the walls, a dark blue, so it’s really kind of moody, and artsy, and cozy then some modern furniture.”

Thanks to a strong fall season and large renovations, Thunder Bay Theatre has had to expand their administrative staff to six. During the spring season, renovations will push ticket sales and entrances to the door right of the lobby entrance. It’s an exciting time for Thunder Bay Theatre and by the summer, it will be a new step into the future for the historic venue.

For more information on the renovations, visit the Thunder Bay Theatre website.