Two years ago, the Capitol Theatre in Logan - one of the oldest buildings in the county - caught fire and just about turned to ashes.
Today, the Ellen Eccles Theater has risen in its place.The building has been appraised at $23 million.
It is paid for.
"The $2.5 million grant from the Eccles family was wonderful," says Michael Ballam, who has spearheaded the renovation, "but there have been a lot of widow's mite contributions as well. This theater belongs to the people of Logan. This is not Michael Ballam's toy. This is a serious venture for everyone. Logan had two ways to go - heavy industry or tourism. This theater will attract tourists."
Ballam points to the right wall of the theater. "Over there is a mural of the Phoenix descending, but here on this side is the Phoenix rising from its ashes. We prefer to look at this Phoenix."
The building, a state-of-the-art performing center, will be the home of a summer opera festival, a series of major concerts and more. Some six operas can be rehearsed at once. Other wonders include dressing rooms for 200, board rooms and a stage and main hall any city in America would be happy to claim. Everything is new, or like new. Yet, as Ballam points out, everything is old as well.
"We've restored the theater just as it was in 1923," he says. "Those were great days for this theater. George Burns and Gracie Allen performed here. So did the Marx Brothers and dozens of other greats. We want to bring that era back to Logan."
The Utah Opera Festival will be the crown jewel for the venture. Ballam sees it as a complement to the winter Utah Opera season - a "sister theater" - and vows there will be "no instant opera." It's going to be the real thing, from the ground up. Opera from scratch. Next year "La Boheme" will headline a July season.
"We want Logan to be like Ashland, Oregon," says Ballam.
Ashland - like Cedar City - has turned Shakespeare into a cash crop. Today the two towns literally go to the bank on the quality of their summer festivals.
The Logan theater should be ready by the middle of October.
Then, it will be closed until Jan. 8, when the city of Logan will have a gala opening. The first thought was to bring in a major star to christen the theater, but now the plan is to bring in some of Logan's most distinguished citizens from past years - celebrities ranging from Bob Welti to Merlin Olsen - and have a big-time local love fest.
"The key is we've got to hit the ground running," says Ballam. "Today there isn't time to take 10 years and slowly develop a festival, as Fred Adams was able to do in Cedar City. We have to come right out of the chute with major productions."
Already several businesses are looking into hotels and eateries for Logan's "reborn" summers. And judging from some of the European and American singers Ballam is already hoping to recruit for next summer, the people of Logan have their track shoes on.