Could the cities get a new theater unlike any other, and getting ready for a unique event that has many, many stages in the city's.

We'll.

There is an old theater in the city's a movie house that showed its last film in 1958.

It was turned into another business before that closed, leaving it empty for the past 14 years.

Enter Felix Vallejo.

He transformed the old Skelly gas station on Fifth Avenue in Moline, a building once on the city's endangered list.

Now he set his sights on what was the Moline Orpheum Theater.

Felix Vallejo joins us to talk about his vision.

So you got the Orpheum Theater now?

What made you say, you know, this is a building that deserves attention and has a future?

It was one of the things I've.

I've lived in the West End all my life.

So, when you first come for sale, I went through it and I thought this would make a great event center gathering place for the community.

To me, there's much need to have, affordable, events, you know, for, the community there.

And that's.

That was the first thing in my mind.

Well, you see the neighborhood really thriving now.

Yes.

I mean, in the years that I've been here is pretty much a drive through area.

Now.

It's become a destination, almost an extension of downtown.

And and you see this perhaps, maybe as the heart of it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think it's going to be a great you know, Moline is really big into community development right now.

And, so with that comes along, community, gatherings, community, involvement.

And I think this is just be a shot in the arm for, the Florissant.

Not only that, anything, you know, around in the community as far as, sharing and offering affordable, events, you know, within the, the community, you are a lover of history.

And I want to talk about the Skelly gas station in a moment, because you're you're the one that, made that happen.

That that that distressed building come back to life.

What is inside that building right now?

The the theater.

I mean, is it in really bad shape?

And and we're very surprised at how large it is inside.

Yeah.

No, right now it's just more of a gathering place, for family.

We have had neighborhood meetings in there.

It is, one of the things I'm very proud of.

I have a display of my dad's, World War two history.

He was happened to be on a ship that was, torpedoed and sank along with that 800 of his comrades, had perished in there.

So that's one thing that I'm very proud of that I was able to display there.

Other than that, it just, shows a history of what?

Gas stations, how they were a big part of, contributing to the transportation industry.

You're talking about the Skelly?

The Skelly station?

Yes.

So, it just, it's been it's snowballed and it's just been, I get, people coming to that tour, you know, all the time, you know, basically.

So it's just something that, it just helps in the community to, realize, what gas stations are, how they really, contributed to, the automobile industry.

And what about the theater?

I mean, it's been abandoned for more than a decade now.

Yeah.

What kind of shape is it in?

Well, it's coming back to life.

You know, we're still got, some work to do.

Hopefully by the end of this summer, for, you know, we'll be able to open it up to, events.

One of the things we are adamant about is showing, bring back the movies.

Kids movies.

Classic movies, at a very affordable price, you know, to the neighborhood and the community, you know, where the ways they don't get the opportunity, you know, to go to a movie.

That's that's one of the big nice the other things it's it's going to be a multi-purpose, area where, you know, you get into the theater, you can get into, different gatherings.

Music, you know, so, there's there's a lot, that can happen.

Not easily, though.

I mean, it's it's an expensive proposition.

Well, that's going to take time to complete, I think.

So, you know, I, I can pretty much have kind of a handy man.

So a lot of it that pretty much did what I can do.

And with what I got.

So I am getting to the point where, we're going to be reaching out to the community for some support, and it's there at the city has been very, very supportive.

I've had, historical, Moline Historical Commission there, and they're just as excited as I am.

So them being excited makes me more ambitious to to get her done and then keep her going.

Do you think to plan on restoring the marquee in some way?

I am hopeful.

That's a pretty expensive.

So back in 1939, they had had a renovation and remodel because again, you got remember, this is 1916 at the time was a picture house.

Yeah.

So so the building was first built in 1968 is actually we can go back to 1892.

Oh wow.

So it was converted into the theater?

Yes.

So theaters, if you look back to history, they look for the biggest storefronts they could find and put a theater in there.

So, this was prior to that was a, streetcar barn.

You know, if you think about streetcar, the middle road there, back in the 1890s, 1900s.

And then it was a livery stable, believe it or not, for horses.

Yeah.

And then after 1916, that's when it became a theater.

And it stayed as a theater until the mid to late 50s.

Yeah.

1957 58, I believe.

58.

So you gotta think about, TVs and TVs come in and a lot of the theaters, they kind of, you know, lost their, momentum.

Well, you were saying that Moline had almost half dozen theaters in the city itself.

They did, believe it or not, you know, probably remember the Paradise.

LeClaire.

They had a theater, Avery theater.

There's a lot of theaters here, but that's the only entertainment people had at that time.

You know, it was a theater.

There's no TVs.

So they got.

They'd go to the theater.

There was an article in the, in the paper where they had a grand opening.

They had a remodel, grand opening.

And this when they put the marquee on there, that marquee, 1939.

And, they had 1000 in attendance when they when they reopened it.

Yeah.

It's amazing.

How do you see this as being an important part of that neighborhood?

Oh, I think it'd just be a big shot in the arm.

You know, I am, in collaboration with the Florissant Association, would do a lot of work down there, you know, whole different events.

They get a lot of resources for different people down there.

You know, same with the polymers, organization.

And with their help.

Yeah.

It's going to be good nowadays.

You know, I, I was born and raised down there, so I think about, you know, running around there and knowing everybody, you know, and all the kids down there and everybody, you know, everybody it's a little bit different now, you know.

So hopefully we can bring that back, you know, to, to get people back together and be able to, enjoy everybody.

What I think is interesting about this particular project is, is you're really invested more than one way.

Oh, it's not only monetary, it's it's personal to you.

Yeah.

Called a labor of love.

But call it whatever you want.

But, you know, growing up there, I love it.

So sometimes, you got to think about where are you, where you're at, and you know who you are, you know?

And a lot of it is through, obviously, our upbringing, through our parents, you know, you know, it could have been better, but a lot of it is through your community, your community's got a lot to do with, you know, who you are.

I honestly believe that, you know, so and living in the city, I'm always just been you.

You look at your kids and your grandkids, you know, and and them growing up in that area, you know, and they're all productive citizens.

And what more can you ask for?

And a lot of it's got to do with your community.

Well, in the last ten, 15 years, we've seen great, changes in the neighborhood, a great investments and a great pride in, in its Hispanic background.

I mean, you certainly feel like you need to contribute to that, and you already have in some ways.

Right?

Right.

No.

And you're right.

You know, I feel when you get older, you know, you think you think about, where you come from and what you can do.

You know, I'm just blessed that I have the resources and the some of the knowledge to do some of the work I do, you know, renovating.

So.

No, I feel that I feel that strongly.

You know, because the city has, you know, grown up.

The city is, one of my first jobs with the city.

You know, when I was 15 years old, they had a summer program with Bethany Home, and I think.

I think you think back, you know, sometimes and think, wow, that helped me, you know, grow and and see some of the, the needs, as, as far as, working, you know, in, in the process, you know, so.

Lead me through what you're going to have to do to get this building up to the standard that you want.

I mean, it's an awful lot of work, and I just see you need volunteers.

You need extra hands and and I think, honestly, the support is there, you know, especially with, having different programs, you know, to make it affordable for other people.

I honestly, the support is there through the community.

We're pretty much there a lot of it's, got to be the marquee.

And, one of the big, projects that, we need to do now is the heating and air condition.

And I'm hoping to get some support from community.

We're going to be starting a, fundraising, campaign here.

And so hopefully I think it's out there, but it's the city's been very welcoming, so I think, they'll be there.

Awesome.

Well, you must you toured the building before you bought it.

Oh, yeah.

So it's got good bones.

I assume it's got great bones, believe it or not.

So how much restoration has to be done on the inside?

Pretty much.

Got it.

I was got to be put up a separation wall.

It's off the floor.

And it's also my foreign, at one time, the reason had 600 seats.

It had an incline and went throughout the whole building.

So somewhere along the line, they level it off with.

Sure.

You know.

So which is good.

You know, for now, I don't have to worry about, having to do that, but, no, if there's some work and then again, the as far as the heating air in the market, that that's probably about it.

And you say you kind of want to make it as much a community center as possible.

When do you think it'll be fully open?

I'm thinking probably, yeah.

I was hoping the end of the summer fall.

You know, we've been at it a year and a half now, you know.

So if you look at, ever look at like on YouTube, restorations of theaters a lot of time and money, but a lot of times, you know, the grand theaters, you know, where these the but and the ceilings and the cheerleaders and all the.

Yes, extras.

But this is not that like it was a storefront at one time.

And, they saw vision in and it was probably, you know, one of the best, biggest entertainment venues in the city.

Well, and as you said, I mean, the city is very supportive for Santa and neighborhood, I'm sure is very supportive.

What have you heard from people who have, either heard that you're renovating it or have been inside to enjoy it?

They're very excited, very excited, and they like the idea of offering it to, the less fortunate.

I think that's one of the main things, you know, you see this almost as a legacy for, you know.

No, I never thought about that.

I just thought about something.

If I could just pass on it to people to to give, that would be great.

You know, pay forward.

You know, I think I think that'd be good because you think about it, you know, you got you got to give back.

And everybody does one way or another.

People do, you know.

So giving back I think that's a big thing.

Preservationist and historian Felix Vallejo.

In a moment, the event that takes up several stages.

But first, here are some of the other events that may be worth your time, thanks to visit Quad Cities.

Check out the things to do this week in the Quad Cities.

Seniors get in for free at the figgy Art Museum on August 7th.

Then on August 8th, you can catch the Quad Cities River bandits in action at Modern Woodmen Park.

Next stop and shop at the Village of East Davenport Wine Walk.

Then you can get ready to attend the Rust Belt Americana Antique Swap and Auction, organized by Rob Wolfe from American Pickers.

Finally, head to Skeleton Key are in antiques for the 2025 Rock Island Artists Market.

For more events like these, check out our events calendar at visit Quad cities.com.

Alternating current is the South by Southwest version set in the cities.

What started as a summer concert in LeClaire Park has now grown into a music film, art and comedy festival that has venues in Davenport, Bettendorf and Rock Island.

Alternating currents is coming up next weekend, August 14th through the 17th.

And joining us is one of the organizers, Alicia Ashby, from the Downtown Davenport Partnership.

Alternating current has quite a history.

I mean, it really basically started on the riverfront in Davenport, but it's expanded into Davenport.

Now it's Rock Island and Bettendorf.

The whole idea is not just one venue.

You've got a number of stages.

Yeah, I haven't even counted them all up this year.

Every year it grows in venues and performances.

But founded in 2017, in downtown Davenport, and it has grown so quickly in our partners in downtown Bettendorf and Rock Island have wanted to host programing, and we've done it in Rock Island several years in Bettendorf.

We started just a few years ago, but I think we're over 40 venues now.

I'll do the final count here soon once we announce everything, but it's been incredible just to see how we can activate different spaces across the region.

Well, it was kind of patterned, or at least a germ of an idea from Austin, Texas and South by Southwest.

And it's interesting because it isn't just a music festival.

You also have comedy, you have film, and you have, food.

Yet we all have food everywhere.

Yeah, but I mean, yeah, we have burlesque dancers, we have belly dancing, we have all the the comedians.

We our team visited South by Southwest to kind of just get a sense of like, how does something like this operate?

And then the other festival that we looked closely at was Mile of Music, which happens in Appleton, Wisconsin.

And they're very that's all music focused, but they take this whole road of their downtown, a mile of it, and activate all these venues.

And we just thought that it would be the perfect fit in Davenport.

Just we have such a great arts and entertainment scene already.

And so it was just a matter of finding the right partners to make that come to life.

Are you surprised at all that over the course of, what, eight years that it has bloomed and and I know you're trying to make it more of a, a regional, destination.

Yeah, I, I am kind of shocked about the growth because the first couple of years, it took a while for people to really understand what we were doing.

We were shifting from a a very simple, simple festival model where it's like, you go to the riverfront and you watch these acts, and now we're asking people to like, kind of choose your own adventure.

So they would show up and they'd be like, what do I what are we doing?

And so it took like, I'd say a couple of years for people to, like, really understand the model.

But with the festival app, the mobile app on your phone, that's the best way to navigate everything.

We have hundreds of events, but now you just have those champions that are just like, they bring more friends every year, and once they come, once they're kind of hooked and they come again and again.

So we've seen the crowds really grow.

You have really pushed the app in particular, and for good reason, because, you know, with 40 different venues, 100 some acts, different genres of of either music or, like you said, film and comedy, you really need some type of menu.

Yeah, we used to print a booklet and if we printed it now, you know, it'd be this thick.

And then things change or weather pops up.

And so the mobile app is the best way to navigate the festival, hands down.

You can kind of search through what's coming in and see what you like.

Build your own schedule.

We get a lot of compliments on the app and we spend a lot of time, you know, kind of curating it and developing it each year.

But it's just a phenomenal tool.

The other thing is that so many of the events are actually free.

It's free admission, and the daytime events are family friendly in many ways.

Yeah, we have tags on the app that kind of sort through what is family friendly.

So if you're bringing your kids down, you can kind of get that glance, of what's happening.

But yeah, it's just the whole concept and the places that we're activating.

All of it is free.

We've kind of moved away from saying 100% free, because every once in a while, a partner might throw in a page show and we'll put that on the app if it is ticketed.

But you have access to hundreds of vendors and food and music and comedy and all different art, and it's all free.

Tell me a little bit about the marketing of this.

Like you said, people had to wrap their head around, what is this?

And once people came once, they're more than happy to come back a second time.

How do you market that outside of the Quad Cities where people are are more familiar with it now?

Well, it helps now that we have the visuals, like we have some great production partners that help us kind of showcase what the festival is.

But when we market it to outside, outside of the region, we just try to encourage people to come experience the Quad Cities.

And this is a really fun weekend to do it.

So if you are, if you're ever thinking about making a road trip or coming in, this is the weekend to do it.

And it's not overwhelming.

Yeah, we have crowds, but because we have so many different venues and overlapping events, it's you know, I have some people that say like, oh, I think this is not really for me.

This is for the cool kids or, you know, like younger people.

And I say, no, it's really for everybody.

I mean, the intention is, is that we book a really wide range of genres and put acts in all different places that there is something for everyone, and you should feel comfortable coming down and exploring whatever spaces that, that you want to come see.

Well, and I'm just going to mention the Davenport spaces, is that, you've got the last picture.

House is where your films are being shown.

You even have events at up, which is the rooftop, bar.

You've got, like, the Raccoon Motel.

You've got all these, I don't want to say quirky, but all these unique facilities all throughout the Davenport in particular, to start with, that it's really kind of a neat experience to showcase those.

Yeah, we talk about it being a festival of discovery.

And so at first you might think, oh, yeah, artists like I'm going to find my next favorite artists.

Or we say, see, in the next big thing.

But for a downtown organization like ours, I work for the Downtown Davenport Partnership.

It's for us.

It's it's huge.

The benefits of being a festival of discovery of place.

I want you to find your next favorite restaurant, your next favorite bar.

Enjoy the streetscape and the flowers and just the time that you can spend downtown.

Alicia, you know the so well.

And I've had knowledge of what the chamber has been trying to do for years.

And one of the things that the chamber really wants is for, the Quad Cities to be more hip, to have more experiences with the thought that if you have experiences and if you are unique, it'll bring people to work here.

You can market this area better to outsiders by saying, look at these other things, these, these, these lifestyles, these, these, these programs that can be for your entire family.

The benefits of of alternating currents really adds to that total experience of the Quad Cities.

Yeah, it's just it it can't be understated that this is actually a really talent, attraction and retention tool.

And I can use my own, you know, experience of, of moving away from the Quad Cities and coming back when I moved away, I didn't think that there was anything in the Quad Cities for me.

I was a very creative person.

I wanted access to, to culture and all those amenities and in live music.

And so when I came back to the Quad Cities for a visiting over the summer and came and stood outside of River music experience, that was the first light bulb moment where I was like, oh, what's happening in the Quad Cities?

Like maybe I maybe I could find something here and be closer to family and home.

And so I look at alternating current as that opportunity every year to get young people downtown and actually see themselves, you know, finding a place here.

Is there any I'm going to put you on the spot.

Is there any one act?

Is there anything that you are really looking forward to?

So we'll start, dropping our top three.

So we always asked different staff and people like what what they want to see.

I'm a big Henry fan, and we bring them back a lot.

Not just because I like them, but the coolest part about Henry is they were involved in our fir kind of tiny crowd.

Right.

And now they've been here several years.

And to see it grow and grow.

And so one of the new things this year is we're going to take the stage that we normally put in the skybridge courtyard.

We're going to put it out on second Street.

And so now we have this big space and Henry is going to perform on, on what are the biggest stages this summer.

And so just kind of seeing the growth of that artist and, and the people and the fans that they get, I, I just personally get a lot of enjoyment out of that.

So people once again, the key is to get the app and the tell me a little bit more, this is your best last sell is the app will get you through alternating current.

It will.

It's not just a marketing ploy.

I actually think it's for your benefit.

You need to download the app.

We have links on our website alternating current kgw.com.

You can navigate all the different restaurants kind of plan your visit.

I like to build my own schedule and you can kind of compare with friends.

Where are you going?

But it's it's just the best tool.

Our thanks to Alicia Ashby with the Downtown Davenport Partnership and an organizer of Alternating Currents, the music, art, Film and Comedy Festival is coming up August 14th through the 17th now.

Check out the details at Alternating Currents Qcom.

On the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device, and streaming on your computer.

Thanks for taking some time to join us as we talk about the issues on the cities.