Upstairs at 656 7th Ave. in downtown Fairbanks, glittery silver letters remind dancers to "look up here." Metal pipes are visible running along the ceiling, but they're hard to see if you're reading the reminder or dreaming of being onstage. Mirrors and barres line the Gold Studio's walls.

The mirrors are a new addition to an old building.

Less than a decade ago, the building was filled with firefighters. As it neared the end of its life as a fire station, local businessman Dennis Wise bought the property and gave it to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank. Originally the charity thought it would use the building for social services, but the location wasn't quite right, and soon the food bank turned up an eager tenant.

That was in 2007. Today, after a lot of hard work by volunteers, the remodeled fire station is the Edna Wise Firehouse Theatre and The Firehouse Studios, where Dance Theatre Fairbanks rehearses and performs.

When DTF started renovating, the building "was shut down and cold," said executive director Dianne Christiansen. The board chose the space because of the downtown location and the opportunities it held.

By the end of that first summer, DTF was ready to hold classes in four colorful studios. A performance space followed in 2009. Not everything needed updating, though. The former interrogation room (cops also used the facility) is now a handy place for interviews, Christiansen said with a chuckle.

DTF, a registered nonprofit, rents the building for just about a dollar a month, but the organization also pays the property taxes and lighting and heating costs. Utilities cost more than $2,000 a month, due in part to garage doors near the stage, seating and set areas that let a lot of heat out of the building.

Christiansen talked about the pressing work one afternoon as dancers trickled back into the building, resuming classes following their winter break.

"We've gotta get the black done, and it stinks," Christiansen said to a parent arriving with two dancers in tow. The wooden floor in the audience's portion of the theater is supposed to be painted black to match the walls and stage, but as classes started for the term, about half of the plywood floor was still exposed.

Two more studios have been retrofitted since that first summer (and the stairs up to the upstairs studios are now maroon with dance terms painted in gold), and more are in the works. The current work in progress will be used for yoga classes, because the pipes are too low for dancers practicing leaps.

Although the group has put a lot of work into the 30,000 square foot building, there isn't enough room for everyone who wants to use it.

"Oh my god, I need more studios," Christiansen said.

The schedule on her door has more than half a dozen colors, which are code for various classes, instructors and users. Local dance groups (and the University of Alaska Fairbanks) rent space for their own classes and rehearsals. Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption will join the roster later this year.

Amy Geiger, from the Downtown Association of Fairbanks, said the dance theater isn't the only venue downtown that has a variety of uses. She noted that Fairbanks Shakespeare Theater hosts an impromptu talent show and regular music events at its building on Second Avenue.

Unusual venues are becoming the norm in Fairbanks, said Melissa Hougland, Fairbanks Arts Association's associate director. Fairbanks lost a few galleries last fall, but visual artists have been finding new ways to showcase their work, she said.

"I don't feel like the arts have declined at all," she said. Hougland lived in Santa Fe, N.M. before moving to Fairbanks, and said she thinks the two towns have a pretty similar amount of opportunities for artists per capita.