Buskirk box office opens doors to entertainment

One of the oldest fixtures in the Bloomington arts community has taken a broad step into the future.

The Buskirk-Chumley Theater celebrated the opening of its newly renovated box office Tuesday. The theater’s renovations have been taking place since July 18.

“The previous space didn’t function very well and certainly didn’t highlight the quality and historic nature of the theater,” Executive Director of BCT Management, Inc.,  Danielle McClelland said.

Many Bloomington faithful gathered in the main lobby of the Buskirk to celebrate what many said was a great step forward for the city’s entertainment sector.

Mayor Mark Kruzan was also in attendance for the event. He was given the honor of tearing the first ticket of the new box office’s roll, but not before saying a few words about the theater.

“I always talk about community commerce and character,” Kruzan said. “This is it.”

Kruzan went on to speak about building community character and what a crucial part the Buskirk plays in that. He then revealed a special Twitter message for the theater, which can be seen on the mayor’s account.

The box office serves more than 50 organizations with more than 350 events each year. The new renovations will allow the Buskirk to serve them more efficiently than before.

“Someone coming into town as a visitor to our old space would get a lesser sense of our community,” McClelland said. “Now, they will get the sense of a highly organized and dynamic community focused on arts and culture.”

Buskirk Marketing Director Maarten Bout said the new renovations will make things easier and more efficient for everyone.

“It improves traffic flow for people that come into the theater,” Bout said. “We have a lot more room to dynamically advertise for our clients.”

Renovations for the space included a concession area, increased space to decrease traffic flow and large television monitors to aid in advertising future events. Architect Christine Matheu, who designed the remainder of the theater, was in charge of the renovations.

“It is hard to tell how successful something will be before it has started, but we anticipate that the impact of this will be huge,” Bout said.