The Whiteside Theatre Foundation has been awarded a $19,210 grant that will help pay for major plumbing work at the 87-year-old building at the northeast corner of Fourth Street and Madison Avenue. But when the foundation actually receives the grant and when work can begin depends on whether the foundation gets a "yes" on several other private grant applications.

"It's state money, so it's complicated," foundation member B.A. Beierle said Monday.

The grant to the Whiteside announced Monday comes from $250,000 in lottery funds that have been earmarked in 2009-11 for the Preserving Oregon grant program. The beneficiaries of this money include the Heritage Programs Division, State Historic Preservation Office and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Twelve other groups, including two other historic theaters, the Hollywood in Portland and the Liberty in Astoria, also received a piece of the funding.

The grants support rehabilitation work for the preservation of historic resources listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The maximum award limit is $20,000.

The "Waterworks Project" is the Whiteside foundation's biggest immediate priority in its long "to-do" rehab list at the ornate Italian Renaissance building. A broken sewer line was a main reason that Regal Cinemas closed the Whiteside in February 2002.

Beierle said the estimated cost of the Waterworks Project is $48,432. If the foundation gets the private grants for which it has applied, it's possible that repair work could begin in March 2010 - which would greatly benefit fundraising efforts. Without a functioning water and sewer system, the foundation can host very limited events at the old theater at 361 S.W. Madison Ave., which limits fundraising options.

For more information or to volunteer, see WhitesideTheatre.org.