Adjusting its sails

The Gladish Community and Cultural Center in Pullman is finding thrifty solutions to increase engagement after facing financial hardships.

The nonprofit began the year by opening a thrift store, Oscar’s Closet, hosting local vendors at its March Market and next week will unveil the Gladish Collective, with work space available to rent.


The Gladish Players, a community theater company operating within the center, is in the process of fundraising for a new stage and equipment to enhance its performance quality.

Several of the ventures came after Gladish leadership announced shifts in priorities amid a challenging financial situation, brought on in part by the loss of a major tenant, Pullman Community Montessori, when the Washington State Charter School Commission closed the school last spring.

The public charter school had a long-term lease with the nonprofit center, which anticipated steady lease income from the school for many years. The Montessori School of Pullman, a private Montessori school that also operates out of the Gladish, was unaffected by the other school’s closure and remains open, though it is seeking a new landlord.

A home for the arts

The Gladish Board of Directors announced in December the sudden loss of rental income forced a fundraising campaign, launched in 2019, for a planned revitalization project to be put on hold. The Center for the Arts project would have been the first major renovation of the 1929 building since the 1950s.

The proposal included remodeling the building’s Main Theater Auditorium while constructing a tech booth and box office, along with revamping the Little Theater, lobby spaces and transforming the green room into a recording space.

Total anticipated costs for the project were about $10 million, according to a Gladish news release issued a year ago. About $3.2 million in grants, donations and pledges had been raised at the time, then-Executive Director Kristin Lincoln said in the news release, with around $400,000 of that amount coming from individual donors.

Edmund Schweitzer, founder of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, and his wife, Beatriz, planned to contribute $1.5 million to the project. The local philanthropists, however, postponed the donation upon learning the Gladish had moved away from the renovation plans.

Edmund Schweitzer said he and Beatriz were solidly behind creating a center for performing arts space. But since the project was delayed, he said, it made no sense to deliver the pledge at this time.

Their gift isn’t completely out of the picture. Schweitzer said if the Gladish begins fundraising again for the Center of the Arts project, the Schweitzer family would consider contributing. But that’s contingent on plans being viable for the longterm, he said, since success of a business opportunity is something he keeps in mind before supporting a development.

Gladish leadership anticipates revisiting the Center for the Arts renovation plans, Lincoln, now a Friends of the Gladish Board of Directors member, said, but the project’s scope might be adjusted.

Priorities for the revitalization project are being reevaluated, she said, with a focus on performance spaces. Rebuilding only the Main Theater Auditorium and the Little Theater in the basement could shrink costs and make it a more manageable project, she explained, though the board hasn’t voted on any changes to the remodel.

Board members are focused on recruiting more tenants and establishing more financial stability before working on the Center of the Arts project, Lincoln said.

Recruiting friends

David Harder, Friends of the Gladish Board of Directors president, said he is encouraging new organizations to find a home within the historic building.

Its current occupants, in addition to the Gladish Players and the Montessori school, include Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse, Washington Idaho Symphony, Community Band of the Palouse, Whitman County Historical Society and the American Legion. It also provides a venue for Pullman Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, Red Cross and Moose Lodge events.


Setting the stage

While plans for new performance spaces at the Gladish are paused, the Gladish Players theater group is looking at alternative improvements. Lincoln, the Gladish Players’ artistic director, said the company’s goal is to raise around $10,000 for a new stage and equipment.

The Gladish Players performs in the center’s View Room — and courtyard in the summer — on an older stage Lincoln said has “quirks.” The organization has eyes on a portable stage that could fold up and be stored easily, priced just under $6,000.
The company also wants to enhance its lighting equipment, Lincoln said, from a system limited to basic features to one capable of special effects.

There’s no timeline yet for acquiring the new stage, she said, but the group would like to purchase one as soon as possible.

The Gladish Players’ next production is “She Kills Monsters,” set for June 28-29, a story with adventurous themes Lincoln said complement the Gladish’s Palouse AnimeFest, planned for the weekend before.

Productions in the works for later this year include “Much Ado About Nothing,” from Sept. 6-7, and “Humanology 103: Intro to Dysfunction,” from Nov. 15-16.

Seeking new space

Head of School Jane Noppe said Montessori School of Pullman is looking to move out of the Gladish after navigating issues that come with occupying an older building.
Problems arose over the winter when the building’s boiler broke down, leaving the school without heat and forcing it to cancel classes or hold them elsewhere during February’s cold spell.

Freezing temperatures shut down operations Feb. 10-12, Noppe said, after which the Pullman School District offered space in its district office, where classes were held Feb. 13-14 and 18.

An ongoing upgrade of the building’s HVAC system means only the first floor, which the school occupies, relies on the old boiler, Harder said. The school has used space heaters for classrooms while a more permanent solution is sought, he said, and plans are underway to move the school into a heated part of the building while the boiler is out of service.

The Montessori school has been housed within the Gladish since the 1980s, Noppe said, and the search for a new location is unfortunate considering how long both entities have been partners.

Montessori School of Pullman has been struggling with enrollment since the Pullman Community Montessori shut down, Noppe said. Many people seem to think her school was associated with the other’s closure, she said, and she hopes moving to a new location will improve the school’s visibility in the community.

Enrollment for the next academic year opened in March, and school officials chose not to raise tuition, in part as a “thank you” to families who continue to support the school, Noppe said. The private Montessori serves about 40 students from ages 2-6, she said, and is looking to take on more.


New initiatives

The Gladish needed a way to get cash in the door that didn’t take long setting up, Lincoln said, and one answer was adding a thrift store, Oscar’s Closet, that opened last month. Merchandise to get the store started was donated by Cooper’s Legacy Foundation, a local animal charity and thrift store that dissolved last year.

Having a secondhand store fits well with the Gladish’s mission of being a place for the community, Lincoln said, in this case providing access to affordable goods. All proceeds from purchases will go toward the organization.

Oscar’s Closet is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays in a section of space previously occupied by the Pullman Community Montessori.

Another new initiative got underway last month when the center held its first ever March Market. More than 20 local vendors, artisans and restaurants set up shop, Lincoln said, and there was a steady flow of shoppers throughout the day. Another market is planned over the holidays.

The Gladish, in cooperation with the city of Pullman’s Economic Development Division, will soon offer a new co-working space, called the Gladish Collective, for people in need of a desk.

The office space is set to open Monday, Lincoln said. Patrons can lease a cubicle with three pass options: $100 for five days, $175 for 10 days or $300 for a month. Wi-Fi is available for $10 in addition to the pass.

The development is a crafty way to use large, unoccupied areas that were once classrooms at the old Pullman High School building, Lincoln said.

She said she hopes the collective, along with other enterprises like the thrift store and markets, will help generate the revenue the nonprofit center needs to survive.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.