The Norwalk Theatre marquee on East Main Street at dusk, neon lettering and bulb chase lit.
Reminisce. Renovate. Revive.

This theatre hasn't seen its final performance.

An entire community decided that. Dark since 2009 — the roof is finished, the marquee is lit again, and the inside is next.

Help us unlock $650,000 Our Story
The hand-carved Norwalk Theatre campaign marker

The marker outside the theatre is a carved wood recreation of the Diana mural that has hung inside since 1941, painted in the colours found under later coats on the lobby ceiling, the foyer and the columns.

Help us fill in the last three lines.

Hand-carved by Greg Hiltbrunner of Hilt's Builds. Painted by Artists' Open Studio resident artists Jackie Hug, Oliver St. Clair and Summer Braddock. Main Street, August 13, 2026.

Where it stands

$2.8 million To Go

$10.2 million secured of a $13 million goal.

State of Ohio Grants
$3.6 million
State & Federal Historic Tax Credits
$3 million
Donor Contributions
$2 million
Outstanding Pledges
$1.6 million
See the full capital stack on The Campaign →

Secured includes cash and pledges. Updated October 2026.

Hundreds of Norwalk residents gathered on East Main Street for the Norwalk Theatre's 85th anniversary, August 13, 2026.
The Community Challenge

$650,000 is waiting. We have to go get it.

A group of dedicated individuals and businesses has committed $650,000 to this campaign — but not as a gift. As a challenge. Every dollar this community raises is matched, dollar for dollar, up to $650,000.

Which means your gift today does the work of two.

The first $100,000 in community commitments unlocks the first $100,000 of the match — $200,000 in impact.

Commit by December 31, 2026.

Help us unlock $650,000

Legacy Seat gifts are a separate campaign and are not part of the matching challenge.

Community Challenge
$650,000
+ Matching Gift
$650,000
Toward the finish line
$1,300,000

Leaving $1.5 million to complete the campaign.

How we got here

1941 to Coming Soon

1941
1941
Opening night.
1946
1946
Sixty-eight years of movie nights and community performances.
2009
2009
The marquee goes dark.
2019
2019
Norwalk Arts Center buys it back.
2021
2021
A new roof. The building is dry.
2024
2024
The marquee is lit again.
2026
2026
85 years to the day.
Soon
Soon
The doors open.

The long version, with the people who were there, is on Our Story.

Ways to give

Pick the one that's yours.

For everyone

Unlock the Match

Right now is the only time your gift does double duty.

Any amount. Every dollar matched until $650,000 is released. Commit by December 31, 2026.

Give to the challenge →
For families

Claim a Seat

Somewhere for your name to sit, for the next 20 years or the lifetime of the seat, whichever comes first.

Orchestra $2,000 · Balcony $1,000. Payment plans available.

Claim a seat →
For businesses

Name a Space

Name a space within the theatre before they're all spoken for!

From $15,000. Naming rights opportunities count toward the match in full, including multi-year pledges.

Start a conversation →

Thinking longer term? An Eberson Society gift is a planned gift — a bequest in your will, a retirement or life insurance beneficiary designation, or a multi-year pledge — and it counts toward the match too. Start the conversation →

Planned giving

The Eberson Society

Named for John and Drew Eberson, the father and son who designed this theatre in 1941. Just as their work has outlasted them, an Eberson Society gift is designed to leave something lasting — for the theatre, and for the Huron County artists who will use it long after all of us.

Learn about planned giving
Questions

The Norwalk Theatre, in plain answers

It opened on August 13, 1941, at 57 E. Main Street in Norwalk, Ohio.
John Eberson and his son Drew Eberson. This is not one of the elder Eberson's 1920s atmospheric theatres — it is a 1941 building.
Art Deco Streamline Moderne. Horizontal speed lines, rounded corners on hard geometry, chrome and brass edges, terrazzo, and a marquee that carries the whole building.
Yes.
57 E. Main Street, Norwalk, Ohio 44857 — Huron County, in North Central Ohio, the region known as the Firelands.
The rehabilitation is underway and a reopening date has not been announced. The roof is finished and the marquee is lit again. The interior is still a shell.
The project costs $13 million. $10.2 million is secured, including cash and outstanding pledges. $2.8 million is left.
A name on a small brass plate on the arm of a seat. Orchestra $2,000, balcony $1,000. Recognition runs 20 years or the lifetime of the seat, whichever comes first, and payment plans are available — 25% at reservation, two-year term.