Since this is the season for It’s a Wonderful Life, a classic movie that imagines a bleak alternate reality for the small town of Bedford Falls minus George Bailey, an idealistic leading citizen, it’s a rich time to wonder what might have been in other realms. Such thinking could be directed to downtown Lebanon, where two arts institutions contribute significantly to the community — bringing the public and life to its city center.

It might have been otherwise. The vitality of the Lebanon Opera House and the AVA Gallery and Art Center, just a short walk apart from each other, are examples of the area’s good fortune. At least some — and more likely a great deal — of that is due to the contributions of directors who have recently stepped down. At the Opera House, Heather Clow has departed after 15 years, eight as executive director, for Findlay, Ohio, to run a larger center for the performing arts. At AVA, Bente Torjusen has retired after 30 years as director.

Clow took over an opera house that was on an upswing after a renovation, but then faced the challenge of leading it through the Great Recession, and later finding the right balance of booking touring acts and community programming. Lebanon and the Upper Valley benefit from a venue that just last weekend hosted Lebanon High School students belting out the tunes of Thoroughly Modern Millie, and next month will feature Americana icons Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt.

Clow told staff writer David Corriveau she hadn’t been able to be “all that visionary’’ at the opera house, where she put much of her focus on the needs of the organization and community groups that use it. That sounds a bit too humble to us, especially given Clow’s assertion that “this is the perfect time to hand over the opera house to somebody with big ideas.” Getting an organization to that point is a major contribution, too.

At AVA, Torjusen led the conversion of the former H.W. Carter clothing factory into a bustling center that includes gallery, studio, office and classroom space. Both beginners and fine artists make use of it. We particularly appreciate how alterations have brought color and style to the building while respecting its original bones — a plain factory with big windows that draw in good light. Torjusen’s last major project was a new sculptural studio out back. A $2.5 million capital campaign, said to be close to its goal, has paid off the mortgage on the main building and most of the costs of the new one.

The often-sad fate of former factories in the region and beyond show how things could have turned out otherwise. Staff writer Nicola Smith wrote that Torjusen “envisioned a building that would be completely given over to the making and study of art,” and that has come to pass.

It’s overly dramatic to compare Torjusen and Clow to the fictional George Bailey, but to imagine Lebanon without the institutions they have led is a less than wonderful prospect. We salute their good work here.