Historic theater in Stevens Point faces demolition

STEVENS POINT, Wis. — A historic theater in downtown Stevens Point appears headed for the wrecking ball.

A nonprofit has been running a $3.5 million campaign to turn the vacant Fox Theater into a makerspace and community arts center.

But that organization, CREATE Portage County , announced it could not meet the requirements or a city timeline for renovations. The group says demolition “appears inevitable at this point.”

Wisconsin Public Radio reports the announcement comes after months of negotiations between the group and the city. In July, a city inspector issued an order to raze the century-old building.

Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza says the central Wisconsin city is “losing an icon.”

The Fox opened in 1894 as the Grand Opera House, and has hosted vaudeville. The building has been vacant since the mid-1980s.

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