Bohm Theatre
Like so many independent theatres in small towns, the Bohm Theatre had a rough time of it. In November 2008, the theatre ceased operations, and on March 31, 2010, the property tax reverted to the County. At that time the Albion Community Foundation and Albion Downtown Development Authority joined forces and formed the Friends of the Bohm Theatre, as an advisory board, to determine how to save this historic landmark and the theatre arts back to downtown Albion. By September 2010 it was evident that there was enough community support to restore and revitalize the historic theatre so the Friends of the Bohm Theatre was incorporated as a Michigan nonprofit corporation. By October 2012 the Friends had received their 501 C3 status, and began efforts to separate from the Foundation so that they could independently operate the theater, once open.
Restoration began in September 2011, immediately after the Friends of the Bohm Theatre acquired the building from the county. Throughout the restoration the Friends partnered with the Albion Community Foundation to provide financial management for the capital campaign, and used its 40 year history and track record to help leverage funds not typically available to start-up organizations. Originally planned to open by Christmas 2014, the Theatre actually opened three months early. In May 2015, the Bohm Theatre was one of the recipients of the prestigious Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation.
The purple seats in the first row of the balcony are a reminder of the Purple Gang and its history with the Bohm Theatre. The story goes that bootleggers would meet here because Albion was about half way between Dearborn and Chicago. They believed that sitting in those seats their conversations couldn't be recorded due to the noise from the projector.
