The Elkhart Civic Theatre is planning a renovation of the Bristol Opera House.
The 110 thousand dollar renovation will revamp the lobby area and overhaul the men’s restroom.
Dave DuFour is the Executive Director of Elkhart Civic Theatre. He said the renovation is for the patrons.
“One of the things that we want to improve is the patrons experience and this means that we’re reworking our lobby spaces. Our restrooms have been inadequate for a while. We have improved the women’s restroom. We’re going to build a new men’s restroom.”
The work will not increase the size of the theatre. DuFour said the extra space will come from enclosing the porch area at the front of the building.
The last major renovation to the Opera House, before the women’s restroom, happened in 1961 when Elkhart Civic Theatre took over the building. DuFour said the overhaul will likely happen in August.
A matching grant from the Elkhart Community Foundation will cover about half of the cost. DuFour said they are working on raising the rest.