The hot-blooded romance for the Paramount Theatre has cooled.

A highly-anticipated $300,000 grant application to the Kresge Foundation was unsuccessful.

Now, volunteers are refocusing their fund-raising efforts.

One of them, Harry Stevens, is confident the goal of raising $250,000 to $300,000 to complete the restoration of the movie palace will be accomplished.

"I'm sure it will be," Stevens said. "Naturally, we are disappointed we didn't get the Kresge grant, but we are on track to raise the money we need to finish the restoration of the building. Everything will be as it was or better when we're through," he said.

Richard McIntosh, chair of the fund-raising campaign, is also confident of the building that is listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

It will not include an addition, which would have added dressing rooms and other spaces, volunteers say, are needed to ensure the facility's viability as an entertainment and fine arts center in downtown Austin.

Despite the rejection by the Kresge Foundation, other fund-raising efforts are proceeding as the "million dollar blitz" campaign for June comes to an end.

"We had hopes to raise all the money we needed in June, but now we will continue our efforts to raise the money to ensure we will have enough to reach the interior restoration goal of $300,000," Stevens said.

And, Stevens had "good news" from the campaign.

A $25,000 donation is coming to the project "out of the blue," according to Stevens. It comes from a Rochester-based foundation.

He also said it was the result of an "overlapping interest" in the historic building among Austin and Rochester audiences.

Equally exciting are other "out of the blue" donations being made. "A Florida woman sent us a check for $200 and said 'Make me a star'." he said. "Those donations are important, too, and now we're going to focus on them as well as family foundations."

A total of 800 fliers and solicitation letters are being mailed in anticipation of the postal rate increase's impact on fund-raising plans this week.

Forty different family foundations in Minnesota and outside its borders are being contacted.

Telephone calls will reinforce the urgency of the solicitations.

Also, face-to-face contacts have been successful in Austin with "on the spot. donations," as Stevens calls them.

At stake is the theater that became moviegoers' favorite beginning in 1929.

Until it closed as a movie theater and struggled to remain open as a night club and disco, the Paramount Theatre was for lovers only: Lovers of motion pictures, vaudeville, stage shows, concerts, recitals and lovers of a more literal sense.

The stars that actually twinkled from the ceiling saw more hand-holding and love in the balcony and seats down below than a policeman's flashlight.

Those stars inspired Stevens' pointed fund-raising campaign slogan "Become a Paramount lover."

Today, Paramount lovers present and past are being asked to

buy a ceiling star, pay for a seat, have their names etched on the Wall of Fame or make an even larger contribution to preserve the history.

Virginia Wilder donated $50,000 to bring the theater's marquee back to life and light.

Stevens and the other volunteers don't want those lights to go out.

"You don't have to wait to be asked if you love the Paramount Theatre," said Stevens. "Look at the woman from Florida who wrote a check and asked us to 'make me a star.' Look at all the work Jim and Millie Burroughs do throughout the year. Look at what the campaign co-chairs Beth Johnson and Bonnie Rietz are doing. Look at what Dick McIntosh and Karyn Schneider are doing and so many others. We can make this happen."

For more information about the Paramount Theatre restoration efforts, call 434-0934.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com