BEVERLY - One year after a devastating fire, North Shore Music Theatre is set to receive a $500,000 state grant to help recoup some of its losses.

"The fire destroyed everything except for the shell of the building," said Jon Kimbell, artistic director and executive producer. "That meant new wiring, new seats, new sound, new lights."

While insurance covered fire damages, the theater has remained hard-hit by the three-alarm blaze that took firefighters more than 90 minutes to quell last July 14 and forced it to close for more than three months.

Motivated by their belief that the theater is a crucial cultural and economic element to the region, Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry, D-Peabody, and Rep. Mary Grant, D-Beverly, pushed for the bill that included money to help the theater recover.

After being vetoed by Gov. Mitt Romney, both the House of Representatives and Senate voted in late June to override his veto, which is part of a larger economic stimulus package meant to improve cultural organizations that play a role in the local economy.

"When the fire happened, the concern was whether or not the theater would be able to recover and remain viable," Grant said. "It needed a significant amount of money to remain open."

The theater needed to reopen not only to entertain its 350,000 patrons but also for its status as a force in Beverly's economy, she said.

"Beverly has a lot of restaurants, and after the fire, the weekly revenue for those restaurants went down," Grant said. "It's a front and center example of how cultural facilities drive local economies."

The theater must match the amount through fundraising as a condition of the grant.