Fowler, Indiana is a town of 2,413 people located in Benton County in rural Northwest Indiana. Fowler is an agricultural community known for its rich fertile soil that produces record crops of corn and soybeans every year. The nearest large city is Lafayette, IN located approximately 30 miles away. The economy is largely agricultural; however, 30 percent of the local work force commutes to jobs ou
tside Benton County. Fowler is Benton County's county seat and was once a thriving town that supported the needs of the local farming community. There were many established businesses in town lining the main street. More recently, the Fowler downtown has experienced a decline in store ownership and business losses as the population of Benton County has steadily decreased from almost 12,000 in 1960 to 9,200 in 2001. There are several empty buildings downtown, and many of the remaining structures are in need of costly repairs to preserve the historic character they bring to the town. Over the last several years, the Town of Fowler has been actively working to revitalize its business corridors in an effort to reverse this trend of declining economic viability. With the approval of the town, a volunteer group of concerned citizens was formed to reverse this decline and correct the blighted conditions in the downtown area. The volunteers concentrated their efforts on beautification, self-promotion, and economic restructuring of the town as they joined the Indiana Main Street organization. This group contracted with the School of Architecture and Landscape Design at Ball State to make suggestions about how the appearance of the downtown could be improved by doing relatively low cost improvements to the buildings. More recently, an engineering study has been completed to begin construction of a new streetscape. It is hoped that by improving the aesthetics and increasing the traffic in the downtown area, more people will move to Fowler while attracting and retaining more business investment. One business that has remained open in Fowler is the Fowler Theatre. The last remaining local movie theater within a 30-mile radius, it has been operating since its construction in 1940. When it was built, the Fowler Theatre was a grand state-of-the-art facility with grandiose decorating and all the technological marvels of the time. It was one of the most ornate and impressive theaters in the region (see 1940 news article in the History section of this website). In fact, the Fowler Theatre was one of only 5 movie theaters in the country to premier Gone with the Wind! A lot has changed at the Fowler Theatre over its 60-year history. As a result of the changing farm economy and the advent of the large movie complexes in Lafayette, fewer people stayed in Fowler to watch movies at the local theater. Consequently, the Fowler Theatre's past grandeur has not been maintained by its owners as profits declined. The building continued to deteriorate as the roof developed leaks. Finally, very few local people would attend a movie there due to unsafe and moldy conditions inside. The business was failing and the owner could not afford to make the needed repairs to increase his clientele. It was at this point that the downtown revitalization group identified this business as in imminent danger of closure and further contributing to the overall decline of the town. The situation became more desperate when, in the spring of 2001, movies were no longer being shown, and it was discovered that the owner was planning to sell the remaining architecturally interesting pieces from the inside of the theatre as well as the original marquee to convert the theater into a warehouse. Not wanting to see this happen, several volunteers formed The Prairie Preservation Guild, a not-for-profit group dedicated to rescuing the historical theater and keeping low cost entertainment available in our community. Some had been involved with the downtown revitalization group, but it was decided that the purchase, restoration, and operation of the theater would best be handled by a group dedicated to this project alone. The Fowler Theatre was purchased by the Prairie Preservation Guild for $30,000.00. Funding was obtained from the Indiana Historic Landmarks Foundation in the form of a $2,000.00 grant and a $60,000.00 line of credit to purchase and stabilize the building as the structure was deemed to be an excellent example of art modern architecture worthy of being preserved. The group was to use the money to clean up the building and repair the roof. Once the building was rescued, the daunting task of cleaning, repairing, and reopening the theatre was begun by some very hard-working and dedicated volunteers. Members of the Prairie Preservation Guild dug in and started cleaning, painting, upgrading the electrical wiring, servicing the heating and cooling systems, and performing repairs in the projection room. An environmental remediation firm was hired to remove the black mold that had been growing unchecked on the theatre walls and ceiling due to the water damage that had occurred over the years. This mold was a health risk and was the primary reason that local residents seldom entered the theatre in recent years. The concession area and rest rooms were sanitized and updated with new appliances to meet Board of Health requirements. New carpet was installed in the lobby and auditorium. The Fowler Theatre reopened in December 2001 with a free movie for Christmas. Since that time, movies have been shown every weekend. Remarkably, the Prairie Preservation Guild has operated the Fowler Theatre entirely with volunteers. There is a volunteer form on our website for those interested in volunteering. Every week, a group of people is contacted to take charge of the shows for the weekend. Members of the Prairie Preservation Guild have taken on this logistical challenge and have never failed to show a movie for lack of volunteers. The cost of the show has been kept low because a major goal of the group was to provide entertainment to the community that would be affordable to families. The cost of an adult ticket is $6.00 and for children (12 and under) is $4.00. This is significantly less than the larger movie houses charge in Lafayette. The concession stand is also reasonably priced. Concessions range in price from $1.25 to $7.50. The theatre has also become a spot where parents can drop off their pr***en and non-driving teenagers for a night away from their kids. A phone is available for children that need to call for their ride home after the movie. Where the previous owner served about 50 people a weekend with three shows, the cleaned theatre consistently draws 30-170 people for each show and it has 210 seats. In addition to the regular movies, the Theatre tries to offer free shows during the year, so people who might not be able to afford to pay admission, have the opportunity to enjoy a movie several times a year. These movies are often sponsored by local businesses.
