Media Contact:
Patrick Metz, RCPAC
608-475-0596, rcpacboard@rcpac.org
Jessica Burda, Vogel Bros.
608-663-8974, jburda@vogelbldg.com
RICHLAND CENTER, WIS. — One of our region’s cultural and historical landmarks is getting ready for a major restoration. As part of its project to restore and renovate the 100-year-old Richland Center Auditorium, the Richland County Performing Arts Council (RCPAC) has recently selected Vogel Bros. Building Co. to be the Construction Manager for the Auditorium renovation.
“We are honored to be selected as the Construction Manager for the Richland Center Auditorium historic restoration,” Vogel Bros. President and CEO Peter Vogel said. “The Auditorium is an important landmark for the Richland County communities and we are excited to start working with the RCPAC and River Architects to restore the Auditorium to its original beauty.”
The Auditorium, 182 North Central Avenue, was built in 1912 through the efforts of the local chapter of the Federated Women’s Club. It served as a multipurpose municipal building with offices for city officials, meeting and recreation rooms, in addition to a 900-seat auditorium with a large stage and 12 dressing rooms. The building hosted numerous programs, plays, and concerts, along with motion pictures before the growth of movie theatres. Notable speakers at the Auditorium included William Jennings Bryant and William Howard Taft.
More recently, the RCPAC was awarded a prestigious Jeffris Family Foundation Challenge Grant and an additional Joan Woodman Orton McCollum Foundation Grant to kick start fundraising for Phase One of the Auditorium’s restoration. The RCPAC plans to create a self-sufficient cultural and business center in Richland Center that will strengthen the economic and artistic growth of the community.
“Exterior masonry restoration and window replacement will be a major focus as we begin work this spring,” Vogel said. “We’ll also be renovating the entry area, lobby, and public spaces of the building interior along with the building plumbing, heating and electrical systems. The Phase One work will help preserve and refresh the building for events planned for late 2013. We feel very fortunate RCPAC selected Vogel Bros. as their construction partner for the Phase One work and we are looking forward to helping renovate this grand performance auditorium in the next phase.
A fourth-generation family construction company in Madison, Vogel Bros. brings an extensive portfolio of historic renovation project experience to the Richland Center auditorium project. Vogel Bros. has built and renovated several notable buildings in southwestern Wisconsin, including 20 on the Wisconsin Register of Historic Buildings.
Vogel Bros. and the RCPAC are currently looking for local subcontractor participation for the project’s masonry restoration and interior work which is slated to begin in early May. For more information about the restoration and the RCPAC, please visit http://www.rcpac.org/home.htm. Our Mission: RCPAC is a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to the renovation of Wisconsin’s first City Auditorium in Richland Center, Wisconsin. You can also learn more about Vogel Bros. at vogelbldg.com and River Architects at river-architects.com .
