Two Kansas City-based teams were in Iola Thursday morning to begin work on replacing the marquee, windows and doors on the old Iola movie theater on South Broadway.
The historic theater, built in 1931, is being restored through efforts of the Iola Theatre Association, Inc., a local nonprofit. Funding includes $3.2 million through the 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act. The group also has raised $1 million through private donations and two grants.
Crews with Dimensional Innovations are charged with replacing the current marquee. Morgan Phillips, project manager, said the goal is to go off the original marquee, with some liberties. 
One challenge is that they have only black and white photographs to go by.
On Thursday, Jason Combs of Dimensional Innovations, climbed into a bucket truck to peer deep into the current marquee to see if he could gather some clues to the original marquee, including its colors, as well as how it was attached to the building.
“We’re hoping we can find some old pieces of the sign,” buried behind the current one, said Phillips. Work will include removing some of the panels of the canopy that extends over the sidewalk and determining if the canopy is original to the 1931 building.
So far, Phillips has been unable to find anyone who remembers the colors of the original sign, she said.
The new sign will come with some definite advantages.
“It will be modernized with LED lighting and some faux neon lighting,” Phillips said.
As to the latter, much progress has occurred over the years.
“Neon lighting originally required blown glass filled with gas,” Phillips said. “That’s been replaced today with a faux neon strip that looks like neon, but there’s no glass or gas.”
Today’s LED bulbs also last “10-15 years,” she said.
The target date for the new sign to be installed is by fall, said Phillips. 
Miles Franz, president and owner of Re-View Windows, a historic window renovation company, and Ricky Livers, project manager with the window company, were on site to inspect the theater’s windows and doors. They plan on restoring 10 windows and the two front doors to their original Art Deco design.
They, too, plan to complete their work by fall.
The building was last used as a movie theater in 2001. The goal is to renovate but not restore the building as a stand-alone theater. Instead, it will be used to stage events and host gatherings.
