Renovations to Friend’s Historic Warren Building, Opera House Set the Stage for Economic Development

When the community of Friend, Nebraska, celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1995, Pam Hromadka remembers her father requesting to see the opera house located on the upper level of the historic Warren Building.

“My father called me and said, ‘I want to do a tour of the opera house,’” she recalled. Pam had never been inside the opera house, which was built in the 1880s, and she was concerned about her elderly father’s mobility. “I remember opening the door and seeing the long staircase that went up to the second floor. I thought, Oh, this is going to be interesting to get him in and out of there.”

To Pam’s surprise, her dad bounded up the 26 steps and excitedly explored the opera house, sharing the childhood memories it brought back. He remembered attending plays there during the 1920s when the opera house was the center of attraction in Friend. In its heyday, the venue held plays, dances, concerts, lectures, political rallies, and sporting events. Legend has it that a traveling circus somehow even wrangled a baby elephant up the steep, narrow staircase to the opera house for a performance.

When motion pictures gained popularity in the 1920s, a ground-level movie theater was built in downtown Friend. As people packed the theater to see the latest Hollywood hits, the Warren Building became less frequently used. After decades of being the primary entertainment venue in town, it closed down around 1930.

Friend’s leaders turn vision into action

After closing, the Warren Building sat vacant for decades. Yet it remained a physical centerpiece of downtown Friend; the Warren Building spans half a block on the main street in this town of roughly 1,000 residents. The opera house also continued to occupy a central place in the collective memory of the community. Anyone whose parents and grandparents grew up in Friend has heard colorful tales about the opera house. These stories have been passed down for generations, fueling fascination with the historic site.

In 2007, a group of local residents established the Friend Historical Society to promote the renovation of the Warren Building, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. They worked to transform the ground level of the building into an event space (San Carlo Room) and a community gathering place (Pour House Tasting Room). The latter is a speakeasy-style bistro that has become the go-to place for locals to socialize with friends and neighbors.

During an event at the Pour House in 2011, Pam Hromadka was called over to a table by a high school friend. Hromadka had only recently moved back to town, so her friend filled her in about the historical society and its plan to renovate the Warren Building. Hromadka was excited to join in the work. She reached out to another high school friend, Mary Ann Losh, who was also interested in supporting the renovation.

Losh, who joined the historical society in 2016, had spent her career researching and writing grants. After retiring, she saw the Warren Building renovation project as a great way to use her experience to help her hometown. Losh and Hromadka are both graduates of Friend High School. Losh now leads the Friend Historical Society as president, while Hromadka serves as the group’s treasurer.

Preserving history while developing the economy

Since beginning the renovation, the historical society has taken many steps to ensure the Warren Building is structurally sound and usable. “We have put large amounts of investments into the infrastructure—like a new roof, reinforcing the foundation, and putting in beams to reinforce the whole structural system. We’ve rebricked parts of it. Most of our investments so far have been in things you can’t see,” said Losh.

The Warren Building recently reached an exciting new stage in its renovation. In September, the Friend Historical Society broke ground on a project to make the upper-level opera house more accessible by adding a staircase and elevator. This will bring the building into compliance with ADA requirements, allowing the upstairs to be used for events.

The upgrades have preserved the historic value of the opera house, while making the facility more functional. “It has to earn its way. You know, it’s a balancing act of deciding if we keep it a museum or make it modern enough so we can have activities and things that generate funds,” Losh said.

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) is supporting the expansion and renovation project through a Community Development Block Grant Program – Tourism Development Award. DED has also awarded shovel-ready capital project funding to assist with renovations to the Warren Building. Additionally, Friend Historical Society successfully applied to have the Warren Building project certified under the Community Development Assistance Act and the Creating High Impact Economic Futures Act. These certifications allowed donors to receive tax credits for qualified contributions to the renovation project.

Downtown redevelopment draws visitors to Friend

Previous renovations to the downstairs of the Warren Building have already resulted in economic growth, bringing in people from the surrounding towns. “We have over 6,000 people come through the building in a year. We have wedding receptions, meetings, anniversaries, and celebrations of life. You name it, we are willing to rent it,” said Hromadka.

This initiative to create an attraction that brings people together stems from Friend Historical Society’s mission. Their objective is to provide a community gathering place in the historic Warren Building; pursue diverse educational, historical, and cultural experiences; and produce economic benefit by making Friend an inviting place.

Next summer, the Warren Building will host a one-week, performing arts summer camp for the third year. It is open to youth ages 7-15. The camp draws kids from 10 different school districts, while also bringing their families to visit and enjoy Friend.

“It was so well attended last year they had to do two performances. We counted a total of over 300 people who came to see them perform on the first-floor stage. We’re trying to do things that really benefit our region and the people,” said Losh. When the Warren Building updates are completed, the campers will perform in the upstairs opera house on a 20-foot-wide performing arts stage.

Honoring the community legacy

Pam Hromadka and Mary Ann Losh said that in towns like Friend, historic buildings mean a lot to the people. Rather than letting them fall into disrepair—and having their memories fade—leaders can revitalize these sites to both preserve the past and develop the local economy.

Hromadka remembers her father’s excitement when revisiting the Warren Building he had experienced as a child. She made sure to purchase one of the seats in the opera house in his honor. “At the very first fundraiser, I saw you could buy a theatre seat. So, I bought him a theatre seat. Someday his name will be in the front row,” she smiled.

For more information, visit friendnehistoricalsociety.org.