It isn’t often that one gets to set foot in a historic landmark that singlehandedly kickstarted your town’s redevelopment.
Such was the circumstances behind an interview we had in the green room of Edwardsville’s cultural pride and joy, the Wildey Theatre. If you are unfamiliar, Edwardsville, Illinois is a moderately sized college town that once had diminishing cultural value to the state before the iconic venue’s reconstruction.
Our interview was set in the basement of the iconic theatre; complete with buzzing overhead lights and some wonderful ceiling insulation, courtesy of Rich Walker himself. Many topics were covered in the lengthy half-hour conversation, ranging from the Wildey’s storied history to its modern use as something closer to a live music venue.
This move, as reported in our previous article, was made by Al Canal, the booking agent and talent manager for the Wildey. When asked about his start with the theatre, Al had this to say:
“I came here for a show in 2013 and walk in the building and like this is a really cool place. Then coming for a show. and you know, and when I got my deposition here, I really started saying I want the wild to be a beacon for the community.”
That’s all that was needed to fall in love, a quick trip to the prolific landmark. Canal went on to speak about the many higher profile visitors to the theatre, including Martin Barre, who were all charmed in a similar way by the venue. He went on to say:
“We get people from 31 states, not just Illinois or Missouri, but people from around the world. We have people in the past year, people come from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, to come see a band at the Wildey.” -
In that way, the Wildey has truly become a beacon for the community like it was intended to be. Starting with the renovation, Edwardsville experienced a major boom in restorative projects. Rich, a city council member at the time, spoke on the state of the town in the late nineties when the renovation started:
“Every other shop on Main Street was empty, for lease signs up on the corner. Where the Mark Twain Bank is now was an old furniture store,
It was awful.” That was prior to the two projects that turned the image of downtown around: the Street Scape Project, which focused on restoring the small-town charm and lifestyle of the town, and the renovation of the Wildey itself. All of this made being downtown at night not only livable, but safe. Thus began the next boom of Edwardsville, swelling the downtown area with new professional and retail spaces. It wasn’t an easy sell, however. As with any major project, there will be pearl-clutchers and penny pinchers, or more simply, those afraid of failure. Rich and his team pushed on however, presenting the council with two options: demolish the theatre or put their all into it with the money they were raising. When asked about the success, Rich gave a humbling answer:
“The stars have to align; they just have to work out. And they’re expensive, I get it! I had a lot of naysayers who wanted proof that this was going to work. Well, I can’t give you proof, right, I can just tell you that it looks pretty good.”
Towns just like Edwardsville are trying similar methods to restore and maintain their central cultural beacons, with mixed success. The reality of an undertaking like this is that it takes much more than just a stack of cash and a dream: it takes dedication, clarity of vision, and the simple hand of fate.
If you like the idea of a classic theatre with charm, check out the Wildey in Edwardsville. There’s a new historical exhibit that was just put in, one that a lucky interviewer got the privilege of being some of the first eyes on.
If you want to listen to the full interview, click below: