The $4.75 million restoration and repurposing of the historic Liberty Theater in Lawrenceburg on the Ohio River has won Indiana Landmarks’ Renaissance Award, recognizing the revitalization of long-decaying historic properties.
Revitalizing the theater has become a catalyst for drawing people and business downtown. Since the re-opening in the fall of 2024, a music store and mercantile opened adjacent to the theater, which has hosted concerts, weddings, holiday parties and community events. It was renamed Whiskey City’s Liberty Theater in honor of the city’s history of whiskey distilleries.
When it was built as a German music hall in 1893, Liedertafel Hall served as one of Lawrenceburg’s central gathering places. First renamed Liberty Theater during World War II, the building was a central gathering place in the community, but it fell into disrepair and was largely vacant except for a few businesses that occupied its Walnut Street storefronts.
Knowing a reactivated theater could help boost downtown revitalization efforts, the City of Lawrenceburg purchased the property in 2023, with the goal of revitalizing the theater and bring new life to the downtown area of the town of about 5,200 people.
“It certainly turned out to be a wonderful addition to our downtown,” said Bryan Messmore, Lawrenceburg city coordinator and redevelopment director. “It took a bit to get the wheels rolling, you know how it is for projects like this. On behalf of the Lawrenceburg Redevelopment Commission, we appreciate everyone who helped bring this incredible venue to the beautiful City of Lawrenceburg.”
The city worked with Cincinnati-based planning firm Urban Fast Forward and Dan McCabe, an entrepreneur who was heavily involved in reviving Cincinnati’s Woodward Theater as a live music venue. He brought a similar vision to Lawrenceburg for rehabilitation of the Liberty Theater.
“I like the ethos of putting a theater back to use in a community and using live music as the engine to sustain it,” says McCabe.
The project faced steep challenges. The theater had a leaky roof along with a noticeable lean and termite problem, necessitating structural improvements.
Partnering with the City, McCabe brought in an expert team to restore original features—including the wood floors—and add period-appropriate details. Workers reopened the vestibule’s original ticket booth and tore down a wall closing off the main stage, vestiges of modifications made when the building was converted to show movies in the 1920s. They restored the stage using a combination of original and salvaged flooring. Upstairs, designers converted apartments into a bridal suite and private party rooms.
They also incorporated space for two new storefront businesses: Stage Right Kitchen and Stage Left Whiskey Bar. The operations incorporate nods to regional culinary heritage, serving up fried chicken and whiskey. Original wood that couldn’t be incorporated into the building’s rehabilitation was repurposed for bar tops.
“Live music culture builds communities, and I believe it can also save old theaters. I’ve seen it work in a dense urban environment,” notes McCabe. “I loved the opportunity Lawrenceburg gave me to plant a seed and see if the concept would work in a more rural city. So far, the response has been wonderful.”
The transformation was a public-private partnership between City of Lawrenceburg Redevelopment Commission and Dan McCabe’s Thigmotrope LLC. It was supported by a $600,000 grant from the Southeast Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) program to the Lawrenceburg Redevelopment Commission.
