September 13th, 2024

From Crisis to Comeback: The 2002 Story That Saved Fairmont Opera House

by Katelyn Langwith

You never want to be put in a position where you see the life of an organization flash before your eyes, but that is exactly what happened to Executive Director Michael Burgraff in 2002.

In 1996 the Board of Directors voted to “make-the-leap” and hired its first Executive Director: Burgraff. The organization had gone through all of the restorations and renovations of the 1980s when protecting the building was a huge focus, however Burgraff wanted more than that for this arts organization. His focus was to bring bigger, better shows, as well as more youth through the doors of Fairmont Opera House. A representative list of performers during those 11 years includes America, Ladysmith Black Mombazo, Rickey Skaggs, Maynard Ferguson, The Wallen’ Jennys, Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Children’s Theatre, numerous youth productions by TheatreWorks USA and so many more. It was truly a multi-use venue with meetings, youth performances, celebrations, rentals, a decade of legit brew tastings, movies, community theater, and a group of young ladies that annually rented the facility to be locked in in their wedding dresses.

In October of 2002, Burgraff and the entire organization was forced to shift the focus back to the structure of the aging facility.

Michael Burgraff noticed a troubling crack in the ceiling and wall. The extent of the damage was beyond the expertise of local professionals, prompting the need to bring in a structural engineer from the Twin Cities for a thorough assessment.

When the engineer arrived, he conducted a meticulous inspection of the building. Although he expressed some initial concern, he wanted to analyze the photographs further once he returned to his office. Shortly after leaving, the engineer made an urgent call to Burgraff, instructing him to vacate the building immediately. When Burgraff asked if they had a few days or a week to evacuate, the engineer’s response was unequivocal: “No, now. I don’t know what’s holding up the building.”

This urgent evacuation marked the beginning of an intense and prolonged period of structural reinforcement for The Fairmont Opera House. The building was shored with 2 cranes and scaffolding which everyone thought would only be there a few weeks at the most. It took several months to make the repairs to 3 of the 5 trusses that introduced steel reinforcing to the load bearing points of the existing timber trusses. Over the course of those months, most events had to be relocated or canceled due to this project, but a few were hosted within the facility. (Anyone remember wearing a hard hat to the Loen Redbone show?)

The work necessary to complete this repair was fully completed thanks to the cautious approach and expertise of everyone involved. Based on the knowledge that everyone had at that time, the structural issues were resolved, and the Fairmont Opera House was saved.

Want to know how this story relates to our current situation? 

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