2019 fall/winter 2020
C WITHIN MAGAZINE
Thaine Fischer —
Entrepreneur & Community Visionary BY: Lena Morgan & Shannon Perry
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Entrepreneur and community visionary Thaine Fischer saw not just any butterfly but the bold and beautiful monarch in a tired, beaten-down building on the corner of Ogden, Utah’s 25th and Ogden Streets.
OW is a building like a butterfly? Most of us would not look at a building — especially an unloved, broken-down one — and see a butterfly.
Twenty-fifth has a … colorful history. It’s seen the rise and fall of fortunes, housed brothels and rail-riding tramps. More recently, it’s seen vacancy and the usual vandalism that goes with it. Within the last two decades, the storied street had begun to come alive again, finding new tenants, housing local businesses, and generally enjoying renovation and a new lease on life. But like many projects, the restoration hit a wall during the recession of the 2000s – and renovation of the building in question was put on indefinite hold. Restoration delayed, the building sat, wrapped in a chrysalis of neglect, for years. Though its windows were broken and its spaces empty, Thaine heard the flutter of life within, just waiting its chance to break free in all its hidden glory. the man behind the Monarch Thaine grew up on a ranch just outside of the very small Montana town of Kila, population 62. As he got out into the world, he discovered creativity. The Blue Man Group was touring through Boston when Thaine visited in his 20s, and the visual cacophony of creativity moved him, sparked an interest in the workings of the creative mind. The way that troop of creatives found ways to turn paint and sound into visual art through elements completely disconnected from one another started him on a path to supporting creative energy.
butterfly mural by artist jane kim 58
