Scott Forsman, owner of the St. Helens Theatre in downtown Chehalis, shows off the ballroom of the theater on Monday afternoon. Forsman bought the property — now named City Farm Chehalis — in 2008 and has slowly been renovating the space into an events hall.
Several chandeliers — which Scott Forsman, center, has been collecting from around the world for several years — hang from the ceiling of the St. Helens Theatre ballroom as he talks about plans for the event space called City Farm Chehalis he is renovating on Monday afternoon in downtown Chehalis.
Scott Forsman stands in front of the stage that he and his construction partner Jim Mullinex built while he explains his plans for the St. Helens Theatre on Monday afternoon in downtown Chehalis. Forsman bought the property — which he renamed City Farm Chehalis — in 2008 and slowly been renovating the historic property into an events venue which he hopes to open up later this summer.
Scott Forsman, owner of the St. Helens Theatre, talks about his plans to turn the historic downtown Chehalis theater into an events space called City Farm Chehalis on Monday afternoon.
The St. Helens Theatre is located at 452 N Market Blvd. in downtown Chehalis. Scott Forsman bought the property in 2008 and has been renovating the historic theater into an event venue called City Farm Chehalis which he hopes to open this summer.
Scott Forsman, who purchased the St. Helens Theatre in 2008, has spent the past nine years renovating it into an events venue. Forsman described the interior design as "exotic chic".
The wall dividing the event area from backstage of the St. Helens Theatre was originally built with hundreds of pieces of two-by-fours. Scott Forsman, who purchased the historic theater eight years ago, decided to keep the wall intact.
Scott Forsman, who in 2008 bought the St. Helens Theatre, talks about some of the ornate features of the historic building in downtown Chehalis on Monday afternoon. Forsman has been renovating the historic theater into an event venue which he hopes to open this summer.
Scott Forsman said that this chandeliers — which is one of several that decorates the ceiling of the St. Helens Theatre — was from Lucille Ball's home in Southern California.
The original south-facing wall of the Chehalis Bee Nugget can be seen from inside the St. Helens Theatre in downtown Chehalis. Scott Forsman — who purchased several ornate chandeliers for the renovation — bought the property in 2008 and has been renovating the historic theater into an event venue which he hopes to open later this summer.
Scott Forsman stands in the middle of the ballroom in front of the stage where he hopes will be the epicenter of entertainment once his renovation of the St. Helens Theatre is finished sometime this summer. Forsman bought the property in 2008 and has been renovating the historic theater into an event venue which he hopes to open later this summer.
Scott Forsman stands at the grand entrance to the upstairs events area at the St. Helens Theatre on Monday afternoon in downtown Chehalis. Scott Forsman bought the property in 2008 and has been renovating the historic theater into an event venue which he hopes to open later this summer.
The former St. Helens Theatre in Chehalis will soon be revived, as a project nine years in the making will wrap up this year, transforming the history-rich location into an event venue and future performance center.
Scott Forsman, the owner of the venue dubbed City Farm Chehalis, has been working to “create a new vision by blending the old with the new.”
Using a repurposing mentality, Forsman is working to bring the two periods together, utilizing ancient artifacts and 250-year-old wood.
Collecting exotic and ornate pieces to display in the two-story building, Forsman has accumulated rare artifacts from other theaters and cultures, including pieces from a 16th century ancient temple.
In the end, City Farm Chehalis will have “a steampunk meets exotic chic” feel, creating a place that will hopefully become a large draw for Lewis County as a whole, Forsman said.
“It’s like ‘Field of Dreams.’ If you build it, they will come,” Forsman said, adding the central location from Seattle, Portland, the ocean and the mountains is the perfect “crux” for a gathering area.
Elements from the theater, such as a chandelier and other lights, have been restored in an ode to the building’s history.
The downstairs will feature a reception area, commercial kitchen, dining areas and a wine bar, while the grand staircase will lead people upstairs to a stage and event area, also equipped with a bar.
At first, the venue will be rented out for events such as weddings. Forsman plans to pair City Farm Chehalis with his other business, Gathering Grace Farm, a venue on Stearns Road in Chehalis.
Bridal parties could be housed at Gathering Grace Farm, while the weddings are held at the building in downtown Chehalis.
Then later, Forsman plans to open the venue to musical events, lectures, acting classes and expand it to include a restaurant downstairs.
Forsman purchased the property in 2008 and is now on a “mad push” to open it this year.
“This came open and it’s always been my dream, so I started slowly plugging away at it,” Forsman said of the building.
Ideally, he’d like it to be operational by Chehalis Fest this summer, but the hard-set deadline is December of this year.
City Farm Chehalis already has several weddings booked for the 2018 year, as well as a Star Wars themed event, Forsman said.
His business partner and “right hand man” Jim Mullinex said the project has allowed the duo’s creative juices to flow.
“It’s like a clean palette. We’ve just been painting on it,” he said.
History of the Building
Before the St. Helens Theatre opened in 1924, it was a Ford dealership equipped with a showroom and a gas station outside, according to Forsman. Model Ts were displayed in the showroom, something Forsman hopes to incorporate into City Farm Chehalis. The dealership owner found a location along National Avenue and Division Street, so he relocated his business.
Then on May 12, 1924, the St. Helens Theatre opened, after the work was rushed, according to a Nov. 23, 1932, newspaper article. It was designed to seat 850 people, show motion picture screenings and to accommodate touring theatrical productions. The theater was designed in an Italian Renaissance style with a final price tag of $100,000, which is almost a $1.4 million value today.
The theater later closed its doors in the 1950s.
It was later remodeled to accommodate office spaces upstairs, which have all been torn down to showcase the original brick and some of the original lighting fixtures, Forsman said.
