By Logan B. Anderson

DOVER — Last month, Delaware State University kicked off an initiative to revive downtown Dover’s Schwartz Center for the Arts.

Nearly a year after becoming the sole owner of the 118-year-old theater, the DSU Foundation aims to return the facility to its place as a center for culture and arts for Dover and the state.

But it will take time and money to meet its goals.

“It is our hope that the public community and the downtown community will share our vision in the theater’s possibilities and support the efforts reactivate this historic building of the arts,” said Carlos Holmes, DSU spokesman.

On Feb. 23, the university hosted an event to kick off its fundraising effort.

The Ballet Theater of Dover performed a demonstration of the arts that could be resumed at the Schwartz during the event.

About 50 stakeholders came to the theater which began with a reception and tour of the center. The tour ended in the Schwartz Center of the Arts theater area, where they enjoyed performances by the Ballet Theater of Dover, the university’s Concert Choir, as well as the Delaware State Drama Department, which performed a scene from its upcoming film musical production “Romeo & Juliet.” In addition, student and alumni musicians performed at various stops on the tour of the three-story facility.

The evening’s mistress of ceremonies was university alumna Cathleen Jones Trigg, class of 1992, whose career has included success as an actress, broadcast journalist, and as the founder/CEO of Catscape Productions.

The program featured remarks in support of reactivating the Schwartz by Donald and Dolores Blakey, DSU alumni and the founders of Don-Del Productions.

An onstage, a sit-down conversation also took place between past University President Wilma Mishoe, the school’s 11th head, and U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del. The pair discussed the value the theater could bring to Dover, Kent County, the state of Delaware, as well as the Mid-Atlantic region.

The university became a co-owner of the Schwartz in 2007 when it entered into a joint agreement with Wesley College and the Friends of the Capitol Theater. With the university’s acquisition of Wesley last summer, the institution became the sole owner of the Schwartz.

A deep Dover history

The center has had a long history in downtown Dover. According to the Delaware Public Archives, the Dover Opera House was built on the site of the Schwartz Center for the Arts in 1904.

In 1915, the theater brought baseball fans together for the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox live on stage. Lights were arranged to simulate a baseball diamond, and as plays took place, a telegrapher wired the action to the Opera House where an operator lighted the screen.

In 1923, the Opera House was purchased by George Schwartz and renamed the Capitol Theater.

The Schwartz family improved the building by adding a new projection room, box office, and additional seating. When Mr. Schwartz died in 1942, the theater was operated by his wife Reba, and his daughter Muriel. The theater continued to play an important role for Dover, hosting state political conventions in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1970s, the theater was the scene of a protest on the part of Muriel Schwartz, who fought against censorship by showing a film not permitted by local ordinance. Ms. Schwartz was arrested and her actions led to the repeal of the law.

The theater closed in 1982 and remained dark until local leaders set to restore it in 1994. The building was purchased from Ms. Schwartz by the Friends of Capitol Theater. Ms. Schwartz donated a large part of the sale of the building back to the theater. The Schwartz Center for the Arts opened on Oct. 19, 2001.

The downtown Dover venue closed in June 2017 citing financial troubles, but the 550-seat theater has faced problems before then.

In 2017, the center held a series of discussions about some revitalization efforts that ultimately didn’t go anywhere. During those talks, the idea of changing the center’s name was suggested. Mr. Holmes said DSU doesn’t have any plans to change the center’s name.

Hope for the future

The Schwartz Center for the Arts has been largely inactive since closing the curtain on regular activity, but The Children’s Theatre Inc. has been a regular tenant of the theater all along.

The group is excited that the Dover-based university is turning its focus on the building.

“After the Schwartz Center closed and Children’s Theatre Inc.’s partnership with the Center ended, we were fortunate to be able to rent the theater through Wesley and DSU. Our child actors were enriched by the experience of being on a stage in a remarkable venue. However, an already old building has aged further. Most of the systems need work, and the technology is out of date — sound and lighting boards have to be rented, for example,” said Sharon Crossen, The Children’s Theatre Inc. board member and former president.

Ms. Crossen hopes the university will employee an onsite manager to guide it into its next act.

The Children’s Theatre leader also hopes the university can work on one of the center’s biggest problems, parking.

“In its original use as a 1904 opera house, audiences could park close by or walk from home. Today, though, parking is a critical issue, with each performance beginning with a caution to the audience to move their cars if they parked in certain areas or risk towing,” Ms. Crossen said.

“An up-to-date Schwartz Center for the Arts would be a wonderful gift to downtown Dover and its arts community.”

University leaders said they are looking for to a mixed-use strategy that will incorporate the state, federal, private, and corporate partnership. The facility will also become a greater part of the university’s operation.

The Downtown Dover Partnership recently kicked off work on a new master plan to revitalize the city’s center. DSU hosted the first meeting about the master plan project at the Schwartz Center for the Arts.

Mr. Holmes said that DSU will work alongside the DDP and both will be key players in the next phase of Dover and the Schwartz.

According to school officials, an advisory committee has been established to help navigate the revitalization effort, and the university has set a goal of raising $4 million over the next three years to support of the project.

“Because fundraising will be necessary to make the needed improvement to the facility, the amount of time it will take will depend on the success of the fundraising and the amount of time it take to receive the financial support of the community and corporate entities,” Mr. Holmes said.

For more information on how to support Delaware State University’s reactivation of the Schwartz Center for the Arts, contact the University Foundation at 302-857-6064, at contact dsufoundation@desu.edu; or email Justin Rodstrom, director of Major Gifts at jrodstrom@desu.edu.