 |
The
History of Kirchhoff Theater |
|
The
History of Kirchhoff Theater |
The Sacred Heart Catholic Church was refered
to as "the pride of the community" in a 1934 edition of The Jackson Sentinel Press.
The Catholic Church, built in 1915, put the building
up for sale in the early 1970's when it built a newer, larger
church on another site.
Following you will find newspaper
articles which outline the major events which turned this quaint
Catholic Church into The Kirchhoff Theater. In
1973, Ed Kirchhoff, local entrepreneur and successful
businessman, bought the building for $25,000 and donated
it to be used as a community center and home to the local
community theater organization, The Peace Pipe Players. The first show to
be performed in the new theater space was
"Cabaret" which opened on April 24, 1974. The
show, which was directed by Karen and Dean Tilton,
included 32 local actors, singers and dancers as well as
18 musicians. Mr. Kirchhoff had the honor of cutting the
ribbon for the opening ceremony. On May 1, 1976,
the theater space of The Maquoketa Area Cultural Center
was named The Kirchhoff Theater, in honor of Ed's great
generosity. A new chapter in the history of Peace Pipe Players has been opened.
In 2006, Peace Pipe Players sold The Kirchhoff Theater and have since focused their efforts on supporting Ohnward Fine Arts Center.
The
Peace Pipe Players kicked off a major fundraising
campaign in 1975. Their goal was to raise $20,000 to make
needed improvements to the theater space which included
air conditioning and installing raised, theater-type
seating. Ed Kirchhoff was the major contributor, donating
$5000 to the project. 
