Frank Drummond, a board member of the Friends of the Pulaski Theatre, unloads the new popcorn machine at the renovated Pulaski Theatre. Because the building dates to 1911, much work was needed before it could reopen, Drummond says.

Photos by JUSTIN COOK The Roanoke Times

The Pulaski Theatre on West Main Street showed movies from 1937 to 1992 and will reopen Friday with a fundraiser.

PULASKI -- A Pulaski landmark, dark for 16 years, will soon reopen.

The Pulaski Theatre on West Main Street showed movies from 1937 to 1992. The Friends of the Pulaski Theatre formed in 1993 to keep the theater from demolition.

"There were four or five of us that wanted to save it from being torn down," said Mike Fleenor, president of the Friends of the Pulaski Theatre. "We didn't think it would be on our plate for the next 15 years."

But Friday, years after the last show and many renovations later, the theater reopens to host "Holidays at the Pulaski Theatre," a fundraiser featuring live music. Additional fundraising shows will take place in December and January.

Building renovations are complete, but the theater still needs full sound and lighting systems for live performances and a projector and screen to show movies, said Pam Austin, a board member of the Friends of the Pulaski Theatre.

There is some lighting and sound equipment, but it's not enough for most performances, Austin said.

"We're praying used items come our way," said Frank Drummond, another board member. "In the meantime, we're going to focus on what we have."

Because the building dates to 1911, much work was needed before it could reopen, Drummond said. There had been upgrades through the years when the building was a movie theater, but more work was needed.

"It was basically an unfinished shell when we got it," Drummond said. "We had the old seats, but no movie equipment or anything."

A major addition came in 2005, when 531 new seats were installed to replace the original ones, and a concession stand was built earlier this year in the lobby, because the theater didn't have one previously, Drummond said.

Previous plans called for the theater to become a $2 million civic center that included multiple buildings in the downtown area, but the fundraising support wasn't there, Fleenor said, so the group scaled the project back about four years ago to just theater restoration.

Fleenor acknowledges the process has been slow, but said the group prides itself on the fact that they've accomplished the restoration without taking out major loans to cover the cost.

"We've always operated in the black, because we don't want to go into huge debt," Fleenor said. "For an all-volunteer group that has raised about $800,000, that is a pretty major accomplishment."

The theater is part of the culture of Pulaski, said Tracey Harriman, owner of Coffee Buy the Book, next to the Pulaski Theatre.

People often come into the store to ask whether Harriman knows when the theater is opening and share their memories of the theater.

Harriman said she chose her location specifically because it's next to the theater and hoped her store could become a meeting place.

"It's not saving the town, but it will generate business downtown, and then people will see what we have to offer," Harriman said. "It's a good addition to any town to have the culture, and music and plays."

The theater is an icon to those who grew up in the town, Drummond said.

"I think it brings hope and inspiration to the people here that the town will rise up again," Drummond said.

When the Friends of the Pulaski Theatre hold meetings in the building, passers-by often stop in and ask if the theater is open, Austin said.

"It's part of the town's culture," she said.