By Nancy Olson
Think of the stretch along Highway 90A called “Avenue H” in Rosenberg, Texas, and it may prompt images of the red neon sign at the diamond ring factory, a line of nondescript buildings, a few modest white picket-fenced homes and the famous taco shop that was once featured on The Food Network. Observers would likely call this “a typical sleepy little Texas town.” But, if a group of local visionaries have their way, it won’t be for long.
Just a few blocks north of 90A between 2nd and 6th Streets, the area coined as Historic Downtown Rosenberg is already starting to change. Have you noticed the new awnings announcing many of downtown’s shops, the fresh coat of paint on many of the buildings or the freshly washed windows and the updated signage? Perhaps you’ve noticed the construction or the slightly longer “rush hour?”
Members of the Rosenberg Historic Downtown Cultural District Steering Committee at the Cole Theatre. Ed Crowell, Jr., Chairman, Rosenberg Historic Downtown Cultural District Steering Committee; Rosenberg Mayor Vincent M. Morales, Jr.; Ron Saville, Board of Directors, CAST Theatrical Company; Renee Butler, Downtown Merchants of Rosenberg; Matt Fielder, Economic Development Director City of Rosenberg, and Rosenberg Development Corporation; Joe Vera, Board of Directors, Fort Bend Hispanic Heritage Forum; Kathy Golden, Art League of Fort Bend and Rae Taylor, Development Director, Rosenberg Railroad Museum.
There’s anticipation in the air – the sense that folks in Historic Downtown Rosenberg are rolling out the red carpet and getting ready for something big – something really big. And, they are. In the spirit of Paul Revere’s ride to alert the colonists of the approaching British forces, “The arts are coming! The arts are coming!”
Rosenberg Mayor Vincent M. Morales, Jr. couldn’t be more pleased. In fact, he’s helping lead the charge. He says efforts to develop the cultural arts resources in his city will benefit everyone living in West Fort Bend County. “History shows that the arts create economic growth.”
The numbers show that Mayor Morales’ theory has a lot of traction. In 2011, the nationwide arts industry generated over $135 billion of economic activity, and the money gets spread around. The arts not only provide needed income to the presenting organizations and their employees, but they also provide income to neighboring businesses – not just restaurants – but also retail and service companies. Morales wants his city to get a piece of the pie: “Anyone who sees what I have done in Rosenberg since being elected knows that my focus is all about economic growth.”
The Rosenberg Development Council (RDC), the organization that is in charge of fostering economic growth in Rosenberg, is in sync with Morales, realizing that city government coffers can benefit too. The RDC is so convinced, they have committed $500,000 over the next two years to grow and redevelop the city’s cultural assets.
So why did Rosenberg decide to take a bold move and make a sizeable economic commitment to the arts, something larger, more progressive cities sometimes fail to do?
Rosenberg Economic Development Director Matt Fielder says he and Morales have a simple answer. “We knew we had to ‘think outside of the box’ to spur development in the Avenue H corridor. Historic Downtown Rosenberg has been a real bright spot for redevelopment, and it was a logical place to start.”
Fielder’s college degree is in history, and his keen interest in preserving the past has been an influence as well. “Redevelopment doesn’t have to mean bulldozing buildings,” Fielder says. “Preserving our heritage can be a vehicle for economic development. History adds value, but it’s value that isn’t reflected on a balance sheet.”
It is often said that timing is everything. And this is where the story of Rosenberg’s new path to economic redevelopment lives up the adage. Roll back the clock to the summer of 2011 when newly-elected Mayor Morales is exploring ways to grow business in his town and fill vacant buildings. At the same time, Imperial Arts, Fort Bend’s well-established resident professional arts organization, needs to move from its temporary theatre location in Sugar Land’s Town Square.
“Mayor Morales desired to bring the arts to Rosenberg, and we desired a permanent home and a long-term partnership with a local government,” said Imperial Arts’ Executive Director, Edward Crowell, III. “I had always wanted to move Imperial Arts into a restored historic theatre, but more importantly, we needed a partner to make it viable.”
Crowell and Morales knew that they had found an incredible potential partnership – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that would truly be mutually beneficial to the arts and to the City’s plan for economic development. “This was an opportunity. One I knew we did not want to pass up,” said Morales of his role in facilitating Imperial Arts’ introduction to Rosenberg. But, he humbly adds that he didn’t do it alone.
By February 2012, Imperial Arts and the RDC were signing the agreement that would commit a half million dollars over two years. In it, Imperial Arts would accomplish three pivotal things: the construction and opening of a new Center for the Arts in Historic Downtown Rosenberg with active programming to include every genre of performing and visual arts and arts education; the restoration and reopening of the historic Cole Theater by the end of 2014; and the formation of a Steering Committee, for which Imperial Arts would serve as lead organization to organize the City’s cultural assets and enterprises into a Cultural District – making it a “destination for cultural tourists.”
And so the small staff and dedicated board members of Imperial Arts went straight to work, but fortunately, they had help and support from the community.
Ron Saville is Chairman of the Board of Directors of CAST Theatrical, Rosenberg’s resident community theatre organization. “Since Mayor Morales took office, there has been a big push to awaken downtown. Rosenberg used to be a rundown town that no one wanted to be associated with. All of that is changing,” Saville said.
Saville has also been impressed with the City’s support of the project, and the focus on economic development of downtown. But as an actor, Saville also looks forward to new opportunities for a fresh, diverse group of talented people to pursue their craft.
Thirteen organizations, each from a unique perspective and mission, but each with a vested interest in seeing Rosenberg succeed, met regularly as the Rosenberg Historic Downtown Cultural District Steering Committee. “There has been support for this project from places I didn’t expect support. This has brought a lot of people together – people have sat in the same room that I never thought would ever be in the same room!” Fielder said.
Crowell says he’s seen it before. “The arts bring people together – across lines of culture, language, socio-economic status, religion and politics. The arts are a unifying force.”
Via sub-committees, in-person meetings, phone calls and emails, the Steering Committee worked selflessly, and the results of their research and collaboration are impressive. The Steering Committee identified 42 cultural assets in Rosenberg. The group defined a cultural asset as an entity or project that support the arts and cultural activity. Some on the list were surprises, but one was obvious to everyone. The Historic Cole Theatre was the crown jewel that really got all of this started.
The current iteration of Rosenberg’s 1919 theatre is its late 1930s art deco renovation. It was not only modern but even today is a textbook example of art deco style. The cut glass sconces, the sweeping staircase and the proportions and scale of the space are still beautiful, even through all the years of neglect.
Many people who grew up in Fort Bend remember spending Saturdays at the Cole. Some go back so far that they remember buying tickets to the picture show for only nine cents. The Cole opened with the film Wanted for Murder starring Elaine Hammerstein in the spring of 1919, and 64 years later, the Cole had the distinction of the longest continually-operating theatre in cinema history. The Cole hasn’t shown a film since 1983, but that will soon change.
Renee Butler is the owner and operator of Another Time Soda Fountain, downtown Rosenberg’s signature diner. Renee also happens to be married to Bill Butler, the man who bought the Cole Theatre just a few years ago at an auction on the courthouse steps.
“The Cole was going to be Bill’s final project downtown. He was never going to tear it down; he began to renovate it himself,” Butler said. “When Imperial Arts approached us, we knew the Cole was exactly what they were looking for. They came along at the perfect time.”
Imperial Arts opens its new Center for the Arts on November 16th. This space, much like the organization’s former home in Sugar Land Town Square, will house a performance hall suitable for every genre of performing arts and a visual arts gallery. The Center for the Arts will also include Imperial Arts’ administrative offices, space for arts education and most importantly, the synergism that comes through the Rosenberg Historic Downtown Cultural District. This facility will serve as the primary location of all of Imperial Arts’ varied performances and events for the next two years, while the Cole Theater capital campaign and restoration are underway. “We want downtown to be a premier cultural arts destination in Fort Bend County, and once the Cole Theater is renovated, it will be,” said Butler.
The name Historic Downtown Rosenberg suits the area well because it beckons back to a more nostalgic time. There’s an old-fashioned soda fountain serving 1950s style fare in the similarly-styled décor, antique stores stocking a variety of objects – some artisan and some just ‘old’, but the nostalgia runs deep – and even a small museum dedicated to the City’s nascent bond with the railroad. And then, there’s that old theatre.
Every town in Texas has one. Most of them are empty, if they’re still standing at all. These theatres were constructed in an era of American history during which everyone went to the movies. The picture show. The cinema. The movie house. The vaudeville.
It seems that every day, there is more activity, more anticipation and more electricity in the air in Historic Downtown Rosenberg, as there should be. The arts, which bring people together, promote economic development and touch the very soul of humanity, are here – in a big way.