
Garrison Keillor’s fledgling radio show, 'A Prairie Home Companion,' had already outgrown its original space at Macalester College, if I recall the story correctly. They needed a home, so despite The World’s crumbling condition, they moved the show there. To quote A Prairie Home Companion, the theater was, at that time, 'a lovely, crumbling building that was one plaster crack away from the wrecking ball.'
Well, 'A Prairie Home Companion' fans created new interest in The World Theatre among a younger audience. There had been some talk of demolition. That's when Keillor & Minnesota Public Radio decided to try to buy the World and by so doing, to preserve a grand old palace. They called their fundraising campaign (what else?), 'Save the World!' And save it they did, with the help of St. Paul’s then-Mayor George Latimer and many public-minded citizens. The campaign was a success — renovation was completed in 1986 — and the theater became the permanent home of 'A Prairie Home Companion.'
In 1994, the hundredth anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s birth, The World was officially renamed The Fitzgerald Theater. Fitzgerald, a leading literary light of St. Paul, had lived not far from the grand old palace."