Longtime Medford residents will take a trip down memory lane when the restored Holly Theatre reopens.

The cavernous auditorium built at the dawn of “talkie” movies in 1930 is almost ready to transport audiences on an imaginary “Venetian gondola” ride.

The auditorium will be completed in August, but with more behind-the-scenes work ahead, the curtain won’t rise to wow audiences in the 1,025-seat venue until January, when a big-name opening act will put Medford back on the map as a performing-arts Mecca.

The Holly will join Medford’s 732-seat Craterian Theater to provide local and regional visitors with a variety of entertainment options.

Memories of this movie palace, located at the corner of Sixth and Holly streets in downtown Medford, are especially vivid for Tiffany Maude, theater operations manager.

She spent her senior night at the Holly with other students who attended Medford High School.

“That’s how we celebrated graduation,” she said.

Maude also saw the movie “2010: The Year We Made Contact,” a sequel to “2001: A Space Odyssey,” at the Holly.

“Seeing this on the big screen was amazing,” Maude said.

But even back in the 1980s, she remembers the Holly had seen better days.

Now Maude, along with a team of volunteers, is busy overseeing the minute details of restoration, such as putting together the five chandeliers that will hang from the lofty ceiling of the auditorium.

Part of the chandelier is made of metal, but other pieces were made of wood as a cost-cutting measure during the Great Depression. The original red, white and blue lights in the chandeliers have been replaced with LED lights to create a similar ambiance.

Last week, volunteers temporarily hung one of the chandeliers, restored by GKA Lighting in Portland, near the entrance in the elevator lobby.

Inside the auditorium, a spiderweb of scaffolding that reaches to the ceiling has allowed Outlier Construction to tackle the restoration of the theater to its former glory.

On the top of the scaffolding, a temporary large, flat surface referred to as the “dance floor” brings to mind Michelangelo painting the ceiling at the Sistine Chapel.

The dance floor, which requires ducking your head to walk, is made up of metal plates that bend slightly with each step, with gaps here and there that offer a glimpse of the auditorium floor far below.

Large decorative rosettes, once used to vent cool air pumped from the basement into the auditorium before the advent of air conditioning, will be installed in the ceiling.

On the walls, workers will attach a soundproofing material known as Homasote, which was also used in the original theater. Swirls will be painted by Maranatha Painting on the Homasote to enhance the feeling of a watery world inside the auditorium.

The restoration, which began in 2012, has raised $12 million thanks to 3,400 donations from individuals, the city of Medford, the Downtown Medford Association, actor and performer Jim Belushi and many others.

“There’s blood, sweat and tears from so many, including from the state, city and all of our donors,” said Shelley Austin, executive director of Jefferson Live! “It also says, ‘Look how much Medford cares about its community.’”

The city of Medford invested early in the Holly’s restoration, and the Downtown Medford Association obtained a $200,000 Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant to upgrade the considerable electrical power needs of the theater. The electrical box for the stage has dozens of thick wires flowing out of it, and it looks like it could power an entire city block.

A final fundraising drive hopes to raise almost $700,000 to put the project over the finish line.

Some of the big goals in the final fundraising push are to get sponsors for the remaining 63 seats and for the lights and rigging.

The seats will be swathed in a rich-blue velvet offset by a silvery fabric with a watery sheen.

While the restoration recreates the original look of the theater, air conditioning, LED lighting and other features will provide an unobtrusive modern touch.

An elevator has been installed in the Holly, something that wasn’t part of the original theater.

Austin said the design of the Holly means that there are no dead spots acoustically in the auditorium.

Since the front of the Holly was restored years ago, a lot of work has gone into the interior.

A wooden catwalk that held the rigging above the old stage was rotting and was replaced with a steel structure, and a new roof was installed several years ago.

The original stage was extended over the former orchestra pit, a feature needed before sound was added to movies.

While the main structure of the Holly is sound, with steel-reinforced concrete, the stage area needed additional reinforcement.

“They dug down 40 feet to do the seismic reinforcement,” Austin said.

Adjacent to the stage is the artists’ dressing room, as well as a green room.

Until the grand opening date is set, Austin said she can’t line up an opening act.

“We want a big show with some famous artist,” she said.

She also wants to showcase the stunning acoustics inside the theater with other types of music, such as classical.

The Holly, like its sister theater in Redding known as the Cascade Theatre, will feature various other performances, such as acrobatics and ballet.

Since this is a community theater, the Holly will feature local bands.

Austin said local artists could get their first crack at playing at a relatively large venue.

Movie nights will be featured at the Holly as well.

When the Holly was built, a room at the back of the auditorium welcomed mothers with crying babies.

The “crying room” will still be available at the restored Holly.

The final public tour of the Holly will be held 6-8 p.m., June 21. The next time the public sees the inside will be during the grand opening.

For information about becoming a donor or to learn more about the Holly, go to hollytheatre.org.