'Vote Valley Junction' Campaign Winding Down

WEST DES MOINES, IA — Tuesday is the deadline to cast a vote that could bring $150,000 to Valley Junction for improvements to one of the area's historic properties. The Theatrical Shop, built originally as the Lyric Theatre, is among 25 projects nationwide in the running for a grant through the Partners in Preservation "Vote Your Main Street" campaign.

The Theatrical Shop, 145 Fifth St., is the largest building in Valley Junction and the district's only three-story structure. The makeover project submitted for the campaign focuses on restoration of the marquee, the first-floor storefront and the brick facade along Fifth Street — work that is estimated to cost about half a million dollars.

A campaign to vote for the building kicked off at the end of September. Volunteers worked at the weekly Valley Junction Farmers Market to sign up voters and an online campaign, VoteValleyJunction.org, also was created. The Historic Valley Junction Facebook page also has shared information about the vote and a slideshow by Debbie Westphal Swander, whose mother, Betty Hill Swander, owned the building for decades.

Debbie Westphal Swander now owns the building. She told Patch last month that it's her goal "to bring more life and vibrancy to the district as a whole, but in general expanding that on to Maple because it is the heart of Valley Junction. I definitely want to completely renovate the Theatrical Shop, but it's a big building, so it's going to take some time and it's going to take some money."

If the project is a winner in the Main Street contest, Swander would use it toward a facelift on the front of the building and a restoration to the marquee.

_____________________________________________

EARLIER: Theatrical Shop Vies For Cash In National Contest

_________________________________________________

National Geographic and the National Trust for Historic Preservation are sponsoring the contest. You can read more at VoteYourMainStreet.org.

Contest winners will be announced Thursday. Each of the 25 projects in the Vote Your Main Street campaign was awarded $20,000 at the start of the contest to promote the voting effort and the renovation needs.

Patch file photo