SPRINGFIELD, MO. ? Ronald Reagan was still an actor and a Democrat when he visited Springfield in 1952.

Warner Bros. had arranged for the world premiere of “The Winning Team,” in which Reagan starred as pitching legend Grover Cleveland Alexander, on June 6 of that year at the Gillioz Theatre. It was the city’s major live stage theater and movie house, and its Spanish colonial revival architecture and gilded finery were as much an attraction as the performances.

But as the years passed, businesses moved away from downtown. Multicinema theaters and an arena were built. The Gillioz eventually was abandoned. Its ornate plaster cornice, frieze detailing and fixtures dulled with age.

The promise of $475,000 in federal money, however, has given the Springfield Landmarks Preservation Trust new confidence that the theater will return to grandeur.

When the $8.3 million restoration project is done, the Gillioz will have a fresh link to the late president — it will be part of the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Center.

“Having President Reagan’s name on this complex reflects a unique moment in Springfield’s history and is a fitting tribute to President Reagan’s service to the nation, his contribution to the arts, the movie industry and his ties to the Gillioz Theater,” Rep. Roy Blunt said.

Blunt, R-Mo., sought to add the Reagans’ names to the complex in exchange for securing federal money to support the project.

“This truly represents a time when theaters in America were the entertainment focal points of every community big enough to have one,” Blunt said. “Even in a time of tight budgets, money for this kind of thing is going to go somewhere in the country.”

‘Old-property addiction’

Still, groups such as The Concord Coalition, whose members favor deficit reduction, oppose what they see as too many home-district projects that they consider pork.

“The spending bill did hold the line better than many, but you still have a significant number of special earmarks that were put in,” said Corey Davison, director of legislative affairs for the national group. “We’ve got to focus budgetarily on the tens of trillions of dollars that we are going to owe to Social Security and Medicare.”

The Gillioz is a showcase of Springfield’s heritage, said Nancy Dornan, president of the preservation trust. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Dornan then began putting together a volunteer board and looking for financial support to restore the 1,100-seat theater. The goal is to reopen Oct. 11, to mark the 79th anniversary of the Gillioz.

“I think I have an old property addiction,” joked Dornan, who has worked with her husband to restore nearly a dozen downtown properties.

The Gillioz takes Dornan back to her childhood and the excitement of getting to spend 50 cents on a double-feature and a bag of popcorn.

“It holds a lot of memories for a lot of people,” Dornan said.

‘Absolutely gorgeous’

Among them is Reagan’s 1952 movie premiere. The studio arranged for it to coincide with President Truman’s reunion with his World War I Army outfit, which drew national media and swelled the city of Springfield with a quarter-million people.

New bride Nancy Davis Reagan was not forgotten. Her movie, “Shadow in the Sky,” was featured at a nearby theater. She serves as an honorary member of the preservation trust’s board. “This brought back a wonderful memory of that period in our lives,” she wrote in her acceptance letter.

The theater was built in 1926 by M.E. Gillioz, who was a road and bridge builder from nearby Monett. It is a fortress of steel and concrete, with very little wood.

The building was structurally sound, but the restoration has gone slower than expected because the board has agreed to only do new work as they can pay for it, Dornan said. The board also decided to buy the neighboring building and renovate it for lease as a restaurant, banquet hall and office space. Members reasoned it will help support the theater.

“We’ve been through some tough times,” Dornan said. “There were times when we had to pass the hat at board meetings to pay the utilities and insurance.”

Dornan also recently learned that they have been approved for a $248,000 matching federal grant from Save America’s Treasurers, a program administered by the National Park Service.

David Kunze, of The Signature Bank in Springfield, is working to get local banks to partner to raise the other $248,000.

Neva Johnson is among those eager to return to the Gillioz. Johnson was teaching in a one-room school for $80 a month when it featured the 1939 film classic, “Gone With the Wind,” in 1940.

“My fiance came in for the weekend, and we went to see the movie,” she said. “It was a big deal. The theater was absolutely gorgeous.”