HISTORIC LANDMARK SHINES WITH NEW FACE
Herald Journal / Kevin Howell / November 16, 2007

DELPHI - New canvas awnings, a replacement cornice, restored balcony and windows and a fresh paint job have put a smile on the face of a 1860s historic building in Delphi.

Last Saturday, members of the Delphi Preservation Society invited supporters and guests to celebrate the completion of facade restoration on the Assion-Ruffing City Hall and Opera House.

Funded in large part by an $18,375 grant from the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund, and matched with grants from Carroll County Community Foundation, Carroll County REMC and other groups, work on the project took about a year to complete at a cost of more than $36,000.

"This returns it to the landmark structure it is in Delphi," said preservation society president Anita Werling.

The group purchased the 1864 building that opened with a ball and celebration for returning Civil War soldiers in 1994, and in 1998 it was listed on the National Register.

Society member and contractor Dick Traeger handled much of the work on the roof.

He restored or replaced decorative roof elements, or corbels, rebuilt a cornice on the north end of the roof facade, a balcony and its wrought iron rail.

"I moved here two years ago; I'm a member of the preservation society and it's been a pleasure working on this," said Traeger.

A main feature of the building is its interior where the third floor was converted to an Opera House in 1882.

Documentation found by the society shows Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley gave at least six performances in the building while visiting the Delphi area, where he also wrote On the Banks ol' Deer Crick.

Until its final performance in 1914, the Opera House was an entertainment center for the town with live music and theater performances.

Jim Glass, director of Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology which administered the Park Service grant, said he is excited about the downtown restoration project.

"It's a thrill for me to see this come together. Opera houses were a popular form of entertainment at one time and many small towns in Indiana had these," said Glass. "It's good to see Delphi finding a use for this."

Werling and others are hoping sprucing up the Assion - Ruffing facade catches on and influences other property owners to follow suit. Delphi's Main Street Association offers $5,000 matching grants to help with similar efforts, and several businesses have already taken advantage of it. One was the Oddfellows Lodge which recently completed a $70,000 project on the corner of Washington and Main Street a half block south of the Assion-Ruffing building.

Lynn Corson is a member of the Preservation Society and put together the Park Service grant. He noted that there is still work to do on the facade that wasn't covered by the original grant. "We discovered prism glass windows (under siding) that will require reconstruction on the copper (frame), and there is clapboard siding that needs to come off," said Corson. Those details were found in the midst of planned restoration work, and Corson is hoping to receive further funding in the next grant round.

But they are minor compared to the next major phase of the overall Opera House project. Designs have been worked up for restoration of the interior of the building to bring it up to code as far as aesthetic, accessibility and structural elements. The plan calls for returning the Opera House to a performance venue with updated electric and plumbing service, new dressing rooms, restrooms, lobby and an elevator to the third floor among other features. Corson said interior work should start sometime in 2008 with demolition and removal of falling ceiling material and old wiring and such.

In the meantime, the search will continue for further funding. Interior work is estimated to run about $3.5 million.

RENOVATORS TAKE AIM AT DELPHI'S 1882 OPERA HOUSE
Journal & Courier / Rick Bruner / November 5, 2006 / Page B6

-- With the project to restore City Hall's facade under way, members of the Delphi Preservation Society met with representatives of KJG Architecture, Inc. to start planning the $2.3 million renovation of the main structure and the Ruffing Opera House which occupies its third floor.

In October 2005, the society was awarded and $18,375 matching grant by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Fund. The facade restoration should be finished this coming summer.

"We are here tonight because of a lot of hard work that has been done in the past," said society president Anita Werling. "Now we are ready to move forward on our dream to thurn the opera house into a performing arts center."

Jeremy Duff, a structural engineer with KJG, reported that the structure, built in 1864, is in exceptionally good condition.

"There are some issues but they can be addressed in the course of the restoration," said Duff. "We recommend that repairs to the roof be completed first as several leaks have developed.

Duff explained that his main concern would be bringing the building into compliance with current building codes while retaining its historic integrity.

"The floors will need additional support to meet the current load requirements," Duff said.

Currently, there is a single-story addition adjoing the rear of the City Hall structure. The renovation plans call for the demolition of this structure and its replacement with a three-story addition to house an elevator to transport patrons to the third-floor opera house, a theater lobby, stairwells, building mechanicals and storage.

KJG Architect Kelly Good described the four phases of the project.

"We have completed the schematic design portion of the project," he said. "Now we need to move into design development."

Good suggested the building committee meet and develop a wish list and consider how various spaces should be used.

The society has indicated that it does intend to maintain some retail space on the first floor and office space on the second floor to lease to tenants to help defray the costs of maintaining the building.

"We have a long way to go," said Werling, "but at least now we have an idea of which direction."

DELPHI OPERA HOUSE RESTORATIONS BEGIN
WLFI / Channel 18 / October 1, 2006

A large-scale effort is underway to save an important piece of Delphi's history and provide a new venue for local musicians and actors. The Delphi Preservation Society has plans to renovate the old Opera House in the City Hall building.

The structure, built in 1864, stands along Washington Street across from the Carroll County Courthouse. The City Hall building was never a government facility, rather it got the name because of a great hall on the third floor.

Delphi Preservation Society President Anita Werling said the first event happened in 1864. "It was actually a dance for soldiers returning home from the Civil War," she said.

A Delphi businessman converted the hall into an opera house in 1882. Werling said the Opera House closed after fire destroyed the Dryfus Theater on Columbia Street in Lafayette in 1914.

"Coincidentally, our Opera House was closed by the Fire Marshall in 1914," Werling said. "So, I suspect that there was a connection." Now, the Preservation Society is embarking on a renovation project.

"When you perform, you sense the generations that performed before you, and you almost sense the audience," Werling said. "You can kind of imagine a young poet reading upon the stage knowing that James Whitcomb Riley performed at least six time on this stage."

Preservation Society member Greg Norman became interested in the project as a way to discover the history of traveling theater groups and their actors. "I wanted to figure out what had been here, what plays had been here, kind of wonder about the folks who came through," he said. "Where were they from?"

Many of the actors left signatures on the back wall. "I haven't seen any I recognize," Norman continued. "I keep looking for James Whitcomb Riley, but I haven't found his signature yet."

Some of the dates that accompany the signatures may seem deceptively recent like one that reads '3-8-92'. "I thought, the first time I looked up, 'what repairman was up here working on our roof (in 1992) and wrote his name?', and then, all of a sudden, I realized that was probably March 8th of 1892," Norman said.

The National Park Service's Historic Preservation awarded the Delphi Preservation Society $18,375 to pay for half of the cost to restore the building's façade. The Preservation Society will have to match the grant before the façade can be completed. The organization plans to have that completed by summer 2007.

In addition to the façade project, the Preservation Society plans to repair the building's roof and to have an architectural design completed by summer 2007. Werling estimates the roof project to cost approximately $40,000 and the design to cost approximately $20,000.

Werling said when those projects are completed, the Preservation Society will start a major fundraising campaign for the renovations. She said the renovations will likely include an addition. The addition would feature another set of stairs, an elevator, and possibly restrooms and a heating system. Werling estimates the renovations to cost between $1.6 million to $2 million.

ACHIEVEMENTS...Journal & Courier / May 31, 2006 / Page C6

Karyl and Dick Traeger have been presented the 2005 Delphi Preservation Society Award in recognition of their efforts in historical preservation of properties in the Greater Delphi area.

Their home, known as "The Brick," is located at 203 E. Monroe St., in Delphi and is listed on the Naitonal Register of Historic Homes and is featured on the cover of the book, 99 Historic Homes in Indiana.

The Traegers are active in the Delphi Preservation Society and also own The Green Door, a figt, furnishings and home decor store in Lafayette.

TONSIL KLACKERS TO PLAY AT OPERA HOUSE SATURDAY
Carroll County Comet / August 10, 2005 / Page 20A

The Tonsil Klackers, a comedy barbershop quartet, will perform during the Saturday of Old Settlers at the Ruffing Opera House. The group will stage the first performance held at the opera house in over 90 years. After the last performance in 1914, the opera house became a storage room for the businesses located below it.

The Delphi Preservation Society has been cleaning the building on the east side of the courthouse and plans to renovate the third floor where the old opera house is located. DPS volunteers have sorted artifacts from the building's clutter and removed debris, filling an entire grain truck.

DPS board member Andy Cougill said, "This is the first phase of work. We now have a clearer understanding of what we are dealing with, and can move forward with planning. Now that the clutter is gone, anyone can step into this building and visualize how wonderful it can be."

DPS president Lynn Corson said the group will initiate a feasibility study to "guide our decisions on how to best utilize the opera house. There are many options open to us, and we want to choose the right one for Delphi."

DPS will have a booth on the courthouse lawn during Old Settlers to display artifacts from the opera house, and they will show a video of the clean-up efforts.

Also during Old Settlers, Kelly Currie will give a presentation to celebrate Delphi Public Library's centennial on Friday at 7pm. The Interurban Trolley will offer narrated tours of historic downtown Delphi from 1-5 pm on Saturday, August 13.

To learn more or contribute to the restoration project, email: delphi.preservation@gmail.com.