LINCOLN PARK
raise funds for the building’s restoration. Benton was
successful in getting the building listed in 2006 by the
Florida Historical Commission as an important site for
historic preservation.
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“The Martin Luther King Commemorative
Committee is celebrating its 25th anniversary this
year,” says Benton. “Our past projects have included
week-long celebrations to commemorate Dr. King held
annually. We have also given away scholarships. But,
restoring the Lincoln Theater is now the committee’s
major project.”
The call to action began in 2001 after Fort Pierce City
Commission had slated the building for demolition.
When Benton and other MLK committee members
learned of this, they persuaded the commission to delay
the demolition and later acquired the property through
a tax deed. “We were happy to save it from the chopping
block,’’ Benton says. “ It is one of the few remaining
African-American theaters left in the nation.”
The committee prepared a grant application and
applied for a $350,000 special categories grant from the
State Historical Program, in both 2006 and 2007. It was
recommended for funding in 2006 but the Legislature
didn’t allocate money for it. Money from people who
attended the theater as children and young adults is also
being used to fund the restoration, Benton said.
The Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency had put
aside matching money for the state grant, and so far
the renovation is proceeding with that money.
Just recently, architect Rick Gonzales was hired to
begin working on restoration plans. “The Lincoln Park
Main Street Program is very excited about what the
MLK Committee is doing,’’ Rollins says. “The theater is
a way to bring people from multiple cultures together,
and that is what we have here in Lincoln Park.”
PHOTOS BY GREGORY ENNS
The Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Commemorative Committee of St. Lucie County
is leading the effort to restore the Lincoln Theater. From front are committee
members Margaret Benton, Arlease Hall, Cheryl McCrary, Gloria Johnson
and Shelby J. Walton.
The gymnasium at Avenue D and 28th Street is a partnership of the St. Lucie County Boys and Girls Club, the Florida Department of Community Affairs
and the Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency.