Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Mary L. Bishop, Hawaii Theatre restoration consultant, died Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, her hometown, 11 days before her 83rd birthday. Theater restorer
More obituaries
Mary L. Bishop diesBy Harold Morse
Star-BulletinA community leader in Columbus, she helped save the Ohio Theater from demolition in 1969, later leading a drive to painstakingly restore and expand it into a highly successful performing arts center. This led to a subsequent career in theater restoration consulting.
A 1986 grant from The Honolulu Advertiser brought her here to evaluate possible restoration of the Hawaii Theatre. Her 54-page report became the foundation for successful conversion of the theater to a performing arts center. The Hawaii Theatre Center board retained her to continue with the project for what became a 10-year commitment.
Her help enabled the board to engage New York architects Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer, leading experts in theater restoration, and several other pre-eminent technical experts and restoration artists.
She also co-authored the theater business plan and made numerous presentations in the community on saving and restoring the theater.
"Mary was very effective at that, and she went on to really oversee the construction and insist on high quality throughout," said Claire Engle, Hawaii Theatre Center board member.
"So the quality in Hawaii Theatre you see today is a direct result of Mary's dedication to the project."
Her active community interest in the arts transcended her role in theater restoration. Her home here was at 700 Richards St., until her return to Columbus after Hawaii Theater reopened in 1996. She made a last visit back in 1999.
Born in Sapulpa, Okla., she married Kenneth Bishop while he was in the Army Air Corps in World War II. His later business career took them to St. Joseph, Minn., and then Columbus, where he died in 1965.
Mary Bishop's later work earned her the Louise M. Crowningshield Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a lifetime achievement award from the League of Historic American Theaters and numerous other honors.
She is survived by daughter Robin Allen, brother Howard Gordon, son-in-law Dwight Allen, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild, and close Honolulu friends Raymond and Claire Engle.
A memorial service takes place tomorrow in Columbus. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Mary Bishop Memorial Fund, Hawaii Theatre Center, 1130 Bethel St., Honolulu 96813.