On Wednesday, the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce held a unique ribbon-cutting event, one marking the demolition of a downtown structure. The Rainbow Mortgage building in downtown Mansfield is being removed to make way for the new Imagination District.
The vision of Mike Miller, of the Renaissance Theatre, and Fred Boll, of Little Buckeye Children’s Museum, the Imagination District will bring a dedicated area for arts, education and beauty in downtown Mansfield.
Prior to the demolition, many of those involved spoke about the project, and the effort that it has taken to get to this point. Boll explained that Little Buckeye, which has seen an increase in the past 6 years from 24,000 visitors to over 70,000 annually, needed to expand. Little Buckeye’s Board of Directors was committed to keeping the museum in downtown Mansfield, but needed more space and prioritized ensuring that the space was accessible to all. Ultimately, this paved the way for a partnership with the Renaissance Theatre to co-utilize space and the Imagination District was born.
The Imagination District will encompass the Renaissance Theatre, an outdoor plaza, Theatre 166, and the new Little Buckeye Children’s Museum. The plaza, an outdoor venue that can be used for performances, classes, showing movies and more, will be located partially where Rainbow Mortgage once stood. Brady Groves, President of the Richland County Foundation, gave remarks in which he touted the unique partnership between the Renaissance Theatre and the Little Buckeye Museum, saying that they tried and were unable to find a comparable model. Jodie Perry, President and CEO of the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce, said now they can call it the “Mansfield Model”.
The campaign for funding the Imagination District set a goal of 6 million dollars. To date, they have raised 75% of this amount. The total economic impact is estimated to be $7 million annually, once fully operational.
In addition to Miller, Boll, Groves and Perry, speakers at today’s event included Annamarie Fernyak, chair of the Imagination District Fundraising Committee; Jason Guillams, Chairman of the Little Buckeye Children’s Museum Board of Directors; and Rand Smith, President of the Renaissance Theatre Board of Directors. After listening to the speakers inside Theatre 166, the crowd headed out into an afternoon rain for the ribbon-cutting that proceeded the demolition of the Rainbow Mortgage building, though it was really a way to celebrate the birth of the Imagination District and the bright future of downtown Mansfield.
Photos of the event are below. Click any photo for a larger image.
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Photos: 1812Blockhouse/Kristina
