Historic Iowa Theater exterior in Winterset with GENISYS PoE lighting retrofit
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The Iowa Theater

A century-old Winterset landmark restored with PoE - no conduit through historic brick.

Hospitality & Entertainment Case Study

Retrofit PoE Lighting

Preserving Winterset’s historic Iowa Theater with low-voltage GENISYS lighting that delivers practical scenes and that wow factor.

“We knew we needed to build a strong and reliable lighting look, and the GENISYS team worked with our contractors to make sure the lighting was practical, but also had that wow factor.”
- Rebecca Fons, Development and Programming Director
The Opportunity

The GENISYS team recently got to work with a celebrity. Not a person, but a place. Winterset, Iowa is a historically famous small town. John Wayne was born there, and Bridges of Madison County was filmed and based on bridges near Winterset.

Part of that history includes the Iowa Theater, which dates all the way back to 1899 when it was first built as a grocery store and meat market. It wasn’t until 1914 that the building turned into a theater for cinema and plays. After over a century and thousands of movies and plays later, the worn-down historic building needed restoration that would preserve its lighting character.

The Solution

The only way to restore, reopen, and preserve the historic building and its lighting was with GENISYS PoE Lighting Systems. The building couldn’t run conduit due to the historic brick, so the low-maintenance and easy install of the GENISYS system made for the best and obvious choice. No tearing up walls or cutting through ceilings - the historic building was kept intact.

The system includes high-end ceiling accent lighting, color-changing wall sconces and downlights, predefined scenes, third-party initiated scenes, and concession downlights.

The Impact

Mood lighting before movies. Footlights for the stage. Historic fabric intact.

One of the most important elements of the rehabilitation of the Iowa Theater was the lighting - from the right mood lighting before movies, to footlights to illuminate live performances on the stage. GENISYS worked with contractors to make sure the lighting was practical, but also had that wow factor, all without compromising the century-old brick and structure.

One of the most important elements of the rehabilitation of the Iowa Theater was the lighting - from the right mood lighting before movies, to footlights to illuminate live performances on our stage - we knew we needed to build a strong and reliable lighting look, and the GENISYS team worked with our contractors to make sure the lighting was practical, but also had that wow factor.
Rebecca Fons Development and Programming Director
On site

Historic Winterset

Exterior, house, concessions, and color scenes across the restored theater.

Historic Iowa Theater exterior in Winterset with GENISYS PoE lighting
Iowa Theater house seating area with GENISYS PoE accent lighting
Iowa Theater auditorium with purple GENISYS PoE house lighting scene
Iowa Theater concessions area lit with GENISYS PoE fixtures
Historic interior detail of the restored Iowa Theater with GENISYS PoE lighting
Iowa Theater auditorium with red GENISYS PoE house lighting scene

Restoring a landmark without tearing it apart?

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