ATTLEBORO – Hypothetical? Conceptual? Toss out those words, the Union Theatre Revival is fast approaching full funding.
Over the last few weeks, those aiming to restore the historic theater in the downtown area received two grants totaling $450,000, bringing the fundraising effort for the renovation above $1 million.
Jennifer Keating, director of Illuminate Creative and Theatrical Arts Co., is the driving force behind the dream to “wake the sleeping beauty,” and is someone who has been producing standout student theatrical productions since founding the organization 14 years ago.
The Union Theatre, located at 1 Dunham St., is approaching its 100th birthday in 2028. The theater originally opened with live entertainment and vaudeville acts. It has been vacant for more than 20 years, but will soon be home to Illuminate’s productions and other performances and events.
On Oct. 2, Keating announced that they were honored to be among the grant recipients from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Community One Stop for Growth program, receiving $250,000 from the TDI Equity program toward their campaign to #TurnOnTheLights.
On Oct. 11, she announced another substantial grant bringing them so close to their goal, $200,000 from the Mass Cultural Facilities Fund. She thanked Gov. Maura Healey for supporting the fund.
“Soon we will be celebrating together as a community, giving *all* of our supporters a rousing round of applause when the lights turn on. Let’s do this!” she posted.
Illuminate has long held its performances at Tolman High School in Pawtucket, the city where a fundraising performance is planned this Saturday, Nov. 7, as a benefit for the Attleboro theater project. Sponsored by White Dog Distillery and Crooked Current Brewing, the concert with a performance by Herringbone will be held at 560 Mineral Spring Ave., Pawtucket. There will be free entry and raffles.
Based on what’s happening around it, it seems likely that if the theater hadn’t gotten a new lease on life, it might have been converted into new housing for commuters.
The theater is located in an area of the downtown seeing an ongoing boom in new housing near the train station. Across the road at 61 Union St., crews are in the process of demolishing the old industrial building in place to make way for a new 141-unit market-rate apartment building.
The former industrial property was previously home to Composite Modules Inc. for many years. Crews were seen on Thursday removing artifacts prior to the remainder of the building being demolished, including the old fire alarm bell near the door.
Keating, of Attleboro, said Illuminate has given birth to a new nonprofit, Attleboro Performing Arts Center (APAC), which has been taking shape since fundraising began in 2024. APAC will cover operation and management of the theater to allow the youth theater group to go back to doing what it does best.
Illuminate puts on about seven shows per year, leaving plenty of opportunity for other theater groups to make a home in the space, Keating said. The goal is to have the building full of life year-round.
APAC is expected to apply for its own grants and is modeled after the nonprofit Worcester Center for the Performing Arts, which runs the Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Worcester.
The 1,101-seat Union Theatre is owned by the Friedman family and sits at the corner of Union and Dunham streets in downtown Attleboro. It first opened in 1928, featuring mainly vaudeville acts. It was later used as a movie theater, but was shut down in 2002.
Once the theater is open, Illuminate will focus all of its energy on creative and performing arts, while the new nonprofit will manage the day-to-day, including booking events such as concerts, movies, and comedy performances.
Rob Pierce, a lifelong Attleboro resident who has volunteered extensively toward the effort, is president of APAC. Pierce is friends with the Friedmans and had long dreamed of being part of the theater’s comeback.
Keating said it’s very exciting to be so close to full funding, and they expect to get there soon. The price tag has essentially doubled in the two years since they started fundraising, she said. They had raised nearly $800,000, and two years ago, that would have been enough, but the number climbed to $1.4 million and now likely more.
There have been numerous local grant funders and community efforts to support the planned project.
HVAC units should be arriving soon, with installation expected to be completed by December, Keating said. Once cranes are in the sky, the tangible evidence of a project often helps rally anyone who has been waiting to see if a project will actually get off the ground before supporting it, she said. Electrical upgrades have been ongoing inside.
The Union Theatre building is an interesting one, Keating said. A performance venue such as the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket is just the theater, but this building also has some retail shops, Chub’s Blue Pig BBQ, and another restaurant going in at the back.
After so much planning, dreaming, and fundraising, with help from so many people, she said, it’s gratifying to finally be so close to restoring this community treasure.
Illuminate was established as a nonprofit in 2013, known at the time as A Work in Progress Productions, with the goal of creating family-friendly, affordable, professional-quality theater arts for all ages.
Visit givebutter.com/uniontheatreattleboro or uniontheatreattleboro.com to support the cause.
Anyone interested in volunteering at the theater can email Pierce at .
