Landmark looking for a lifeline

Donors sought to run historic Ioka theater as nonprofit

Among those trying to save the Ioka are Linda and Barry Simard (from left), Joe Pace, Carol Aten, Russell Dean, and Sally Oxnard. The theater in downtown Exeter, N.H., opened in 1915. (Cheryl Senter for the Boston Globe)

More than 1,200 people have joined an online discussion group to help save the historic Ioka theater in Exeter, N.H., but it's going to take a lot more than mouse clicks.

Joe Pace formed the Facebook group just after Thanksgiving. "There is definitely some enthusiasm out there," he said. Now he has started an informal study group in the real world, with expertise in areas like architecture and facilities management, to consider saving the downtown landmark.

Before they even try, though, they will determine whether running the 415-seat Ioka as a nonprofit is a viable idea, Pace said. The question is, "Can we develop a business plan that we feel good about going to major donors with?" he said.

They would have to raise roughly $1 million to purchase and as much as another million to renovate the 55 Water St. venue, he said. For inspiration they look to the Portsmouth Music Hall, which is run by a nonprofit organization. But Patricia Lynch, the Music Hall's executive director, said it's not an easy route.

"You have to take a gut check," Lynch said. "Are we in this not just for this year, but how do we feel about being in this for 20 years?"

The Ioka opened on Nov. 1, 1915 with a screening of D.W. Griffith's "The Birth Of A Nation." According to its website, www.Iokaentertainment.com, the name was the result of a contest. Ioka is a local Squamscot Indian word for playground, the site says.

The theater is scheduled to close on Dec. 24, after a final performance of "The Nutcracker." But many locals will say their goodbyes on Dec. 23, when the Ioka offers a free open house, complete with a screening of the Christmas classic "Miracle on 34th Street." Ryan Howell, a projectionist at the theater for six years, organized the event with two purposes.

"One, for people to come inside and really appreciate it for what it is and what it has been before something else happens to it, whether it's because of Joe's group, or God forbid, a developer goes in there and starts making condos out of the place," Howell said. "But also we'd like it to be an open time where people who are maybe considering investing in it could have some time to both tour the place and just see the place filled with people."

Howell started his own Facebook group for the Ioka that has more than 400 members, and he praised the even faster growth of Pace's group.

"I think that it's really inspiring. . .but a lot of people that don't want it to go away isn't going to pay the bills. It's really sad to say that, but unless they start pulling out checkbooks, it's not going to make much of a difference," Howell said.

Pace is an Exeter selectman, but his term ends in March and he is not running for reelection. He emphasized that his interest is personal, and the group would not seek public money. Instead, he said, they would need one or more "leadership gifts from extremely well-heeled individuals or corporations," along with many small gifts. "Like, $100 each from a thousand people," Pace said. "You could call it the Obama model."

Pace said even in the most optimistic scenario, the Ioka would shut down for six months.

Roger Detzler bought the Ioka in 2004 to continue efforts to reinvigorate it as a community entertainment center. He installed a 48-channel mixing board and other features to raise its profile as a live-event venue in addition to showing first-run movies. But as early as 2006, he considered selling.

"The problem was that these events were never as well attended as we expected them to be. Without this side of the business meeting its goals, we were not able to meet our financial goals in the long run," Detzler said in an e-mail response to questions.

Now the time has come to shut down, under the twin pressures of the collapsing economy and the six-figure cost of installing sprinklers required after the 2003 Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island that killed 100 people.

"It seems every time we look at the project it gets more expensive, and the reality is that the money does nothing to improve our business in terms of profitability," Detzler said. "I have been very vocal about the fact that these laws were passed without regard to their impact on hundreds of small businesses, and without any type of financial program to assist in their implementation. The Ioka is not the first business to be put under by these laws and it will be far from the last."

Pace said one advantage nonprofits have is membership support that can help sustain a community organization in a way not possible for a business. But the history is not necessarily encouraging.

"Our live events excelled when we offered programming that was not available through other venues in the area. Shows such as hip hop, punk rock, and hard rock concerts were almost always sellouts while shows that should have had great appeal to an older, more local, demographic consistently underperformed," Detzler said.

"You might want to draw a constellation of theaters and cultural institutions and place yourself within that constellation and how you relate to others, so you have an understanding of the field," the Music Hall's Lynch said.

"By doing this planning you are doing that essential gut check which is, 'Do we have the will to go forward?' "

"I would like to see it happen," Detzler said, "but I am not sure that there is adequate time to create and fund such a group in the time remaining, so my advice to these groups is to hurry."