Schines Art Park dedicated: 'They did an amazing job'

BUCYRUS - "Look, it's 'Star Wars,'" 7-year-old Eli Martin of Shelby shouted to his mother Tina as he looked up at the city's newest mural, featuring silhouettes of famous actors and movie scenes in its large windows.

In this window, R2D2 and C3P0 shared the scene with the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. It's all part of the Schines Art Park, which was dedicated Friday morning before a large crowd of local residents, many of whom had a hand in making the project a reality.

While there is plenty of art to enjoy in the park by daylight, movies will be projected onto the big screen on the wall at dusk as early as this fall, Bucyrus Mayor Jeffrey Reser said.

Reser asked the crowd for a show of hands as to how many of them had their first date at the theater, which was torn down in 2015. Plenty of hands went up.

The parcel of land at the southeast corner of South Sandusky Avenue and Warren Street was the longtime home of the Schines Bucyrus Theater. Through the help of Joe Armbruster and former Bucyrus Mayor Roger Moore, the city acquired the property. Now, one of two original movie projectors is on display at the entrance to the park.

"By the time we got the building, it was beyond repair," Reser said.

A fire destroyed a portion of the venue in 1991, then the structure was demolished in 2015 after the city received a federal grant.

To help build the park, the city was given several large donations: $110,000 from the Timken Foundation, $50,000 from Ohio Mutual Insurance, $25,000 from the Community Foundation for Crawford County and $10,000 from Bucyrus Road Materials.

Friday, during the dedication, each company was lauded for its generosity.

Once the funds were collected, Reser reached out artist Eric Grohe, who painted other murals in Bucyrus as well as myriad of others across the country. Despite being retired, Grohe agree to help.

Grohe, who lives in Seattle, worked with Lyn Makeever, the engineer for the project, to put together the design. John Rostash, the city's code enforcement officer and tech guru, has helped.

Those silhouettes are of famous actors and movie scenes, many of which were played in the old theater. More silhouettes will be added in the future with residents' input, officials said Friday.

In fact, the park is still a theater: In the center of the wall, Grohe painted a large, white rectangle that will be used as a movie-projector screen. Bucyrus Law Director Rob Ratliff has taken over the responsibility of putting together a list of movies that will be played throughout the year for the public to enjoy.

The original projector from the theater has returned to the park for all to see. The giant piece of equipment was mounted to the ground and covered with a protective paint design to preserve it against the weather.

Reser said a stage will be built next year after the city raises about $50,000 to finish that portion of the project.

Friday at 11 a.m., numerous speakers took to the podium including community leaders, politicians and Grohe himself.

Armbruster and other speakers who took to the podium thanked former mayor Moore for getting the project started. Speakers also thanked the current mayor, Reser, for keeping the project going.

"The theater was closed by a fire in August 1991 and I started talking to the owner back in the year of 2007," Armbruster said. "I also want to remember Roger Moore.... We got the deed of the theater and had it deeded to the city. It was actually deeded to Bucyrus Community Theatre, which was an organization. We had to try and save the building but that wasn't successful," he said.

Bucyrus Middle School art teacher Scott Mental designed the sculptures in the park, including an abstract bird and spinning waves, both which are a work in progress. A large arch was created by local resident Roger Rush.

Mental said the visual goal is already achieved. "Public art is creating dialogue," he said. "Whether you love it or hate it, you're still talking about it."

Judy E. Perrin and Rachel Ison, both of Bucyrus, enjoyed looking over the entire park with its curvy sidewalks and lush, dark green grass.

"I think it's going to be amazing. They did an amazing job," Ison said.

Grohe said one of the great joys and the hard work of his life has been the association with the people of Bucyrus.

"Its spirit, its character, the individuals will stay with my wife and myself for the rest of our lives. It's been a highlight and a joy. So many people have contributed," he said, mentioning people who stopped by daily to shake his hand or even bring him pizza.

"My heart will remain here," Grohe said. "I thank you all so very much."

The mayor said it was a cooperative effort to get the theater torn down and the park up.

Doug Godwin, whose furniture store is located on the other side of the rebuilt wall, closed his business for two weeks when the theater was being demolished.

The mayor thanked Godwin for that.

"He saved the community well over $100,000 by allowing us to tie into his store wall," Reser said. "It shows you how the business community can cooperate to  move a city forward and that we can all work together."

 lwhitmir@nncogannett.com

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Twitter: @LWhitmir