Posted: Thursday, October 3, 2013 4:15 pm
TriCities.com
What a difference people in Marion can see now that the former dark and dingy alleyway beside the Lincoln Theatre has been transformed into a beautiful pedestrian walkway connecting the town parking garage with the town parking lot.
The alleyway that used to accommodate five or six parked cars and a very narrow traffic lane now has steps and landscaping to offer pedestrians easy access from the parking garage to downtown and serves as an Iron Street extension walkway.
Completion of the project was celebrated Tuesday with a ribbon cutting , live music from Shane Davis on the Iron Street loading dock stage, and viewing of the artwork gracing the back wall of the theatre.
Local architect and long-time Lincoln Theatre supporter Bill Huber shared his vision for beautifying the north wall of the Lincoln Theatre building as a way to attract attention to the theater and encourage foot traffic along the new Iron Street extension walkway.
This project began with improvements on Broad Street, funding from TEA-21 (federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century) and a 20 percent match from the Town of Marion. Huber said at the celebration that the project began over a year ago and was delayed for a time due to a shortage of funding. The design incorporates the loading dock for the theatre into an outdoor stage for music and gatherings. Huber said he envisions outdoor events such as concerts and even movies.
Ken Heath, Marion’s director of community and economic development, said the project also helped with a drainage problem in the alley and offers a nice view into Iron Street Mall as well as a more enjoyable place for visitors.
Huber also talked about the mural on the back wall of the theatre facing the parking garage. He said the wall and roadway were unattractive, with neglect, garbage cans and graffiti, creating an eyesore for people coming out of the parking garage headed for town.
“Once we built the parking garage people looked at a pretty sorry looking wall,” he said. “So I thought about street art.”
The mural incorporates the Mayan revival theme from inside the Lincoln Theatre by bringing some of the glyph designs to the outer walls. Painting was done by volunteers and funded with assistance from the Marion Downtown Revitalization Association’s facade grant program.
Lincoln Theatre director Kristin Untiedt-Barnett is pleased with the results of this project and the ease it’s created for theatre access.
“We’re excited to have the space, and we’ve already used the loading dock,” she said at the event. “Folks like using this rather than having to come out into the old alley. And it’s a nice area to hang out in good weather.”
Emory Henry College banners will be hung on the lamp posts to help promote the college’s new health sciences school in town. And folks can come by the theatre to help name the various scenes of the mural.
Heath said the next part of the project will involve hanging a sign denoting Iron Street Mall across the street from the newly renovated alleyway, and then the streetscape project will move up to West Main Street to continue beautification from town hall to the Blue Ridge Job Corps center. He encourages anyone interested to contact him at town hall with ideas.
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