SAFFORD – Thanks to the United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties, the Safford Downtown Association is one step closer to completing renovations to the Historic Safford Theatre.
The local United Way was at the theater on Wednesday to present a check for $180,000 to the Downtown Association.
“I think this completes construction and brings us within 5 percent of our final goal,” said Danny Smith, board chairman of the Safford Downtown Association.
After construction is complete, final work will focus on audio and video components. The total cost of the project is estimated at approximately $1.1 million.
The Safford Theatre opened in 1911 as an outdoor theater and later received a roof before closing permanently in 1975. In the years that followed, fire and vandalism destroyed much of the building until the nonprofit Gila Valley Historic Preservation Committee stepped in and tried to save the structure for downtown.
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
The committee raised funds for about 12 years before merging with the Safford Downtown Association in 2019, when Smith took over leadership of the project.
“The (late) Bill Lewis in particular deserves credit for keeping the project alive and not allowing it to be completely demolished,” Smith said, adding that Susan and Dave Duros also deserve credit for donating the building for preservation.
Construction company Kouts and Sons is also moving forward with the project. Under the leadership of the late Safford Mayor Jason Kouts, Kouts and Sons completed construction at cost and converted the building into an outdoor theater to ease the financial burden.
The United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties awards grants to nonprofit educational and government organizations thanks to donations from Freeport-McMoRan and Freeport employees, City of Safford and Graham County employees, and individual donors.
