Walker Theatre will get more than $15 million to renovate

The Madame Walker Theatre Center will spend more than $15 million to renovate, refurbish and modernize the historical building that serves as a legacy for one of the country's most celebrated businesswomen, philanthropists and civil rights leaders.

"Before Oprah, before me, before you, there was Madame C.J. Walker," said Joyce Rogers, board chairwoman of the Walker Theatre Board. "She has a footprint right here in our own community that we have a responsibility to maintain."

The theater is partnering with Indiana University to complete the renovations, funded by the Lilly Endowment. Equipment will be updated and the exterior of the National Historic Landmark at 617 Indiana Ave. will be fixed.

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The "major repairs" include fixing damage due to recent flooding from frozen pipes, and replacing a fault heating and air conditioning system.

"It can be pretty daunting caring for a building like this," Rogers said. "We also wanted to take the burden of maintaining a historic landmark off the volunteers and the staff."

The renovation is expected to begin in summer and be completed in 2019. The theater's tenants — including Walker Beauty Salon, Asante Children's Theatre and Freetown Village living history museum — will move to a yet-to-be-named temporary location. They are expected to move back into the Walker building when the project is finished.

"The board was really thinking through not just how the Madam Walker would survive, but how it will thrive for years and years to come," Rogers said. "We recognized early on that the focus would always be the legacy of Madame C.J. Walker."

Madame C.J. Walker is the country's first self-made woman millionaire, born as Sarah Breedlove into a former slave family in 1867. She moved to Indianapolis in 1910 and created a factory to make hair products. She died in 1919.

The building, built in 1927, was last updated in the 1980s. Plans to fix the deterioration began 15 years ago, Rogers said, but it was only two years ago that the theater board began tactically mapping out the theater's future.

"There have been several starts and stops to come up with the best plan for the Madame Walker Theater," Rogers said. "It's always there for the community to be proud of."

The four-story 48,000-square-foot Walker Theatre Center — once known as a "city within a building" was finished eight years after Walker's death by her daughter A'Lelia Walker. It not only housed a theater, but a grocery store, pharmacy and doctors' offices in a era of segregation.

The theater will work with IUPUI to offer classes, workshop, seminars and other programs, Rogers said.

Beyond the physical updates, the Madame Walker Legacy Center and the board is searching for an executive director.

"It's just unbelievable what she was able to accomplish," Rogers said. "We want to make sure that for our city, we're upholding that legacy in the best way we possibly can."

Call IndyStar reporter Amy Bartner at (317) 444-6752. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.