When the curtain rose on the first touring production at the restored theater, the loudest applause for the building came from the people who know it best. The owner, the design team and the preservation reviewers each recognized the construction behind the Historic Theater Restoration and Fly Tower, and the care our teams took with a 1920s movie palace.
A ceiling brought back piece by piece
The theater’s ornamental plaster ceiling was cracked, stained and in places falling. Before any work began, our restoration team scanned, photographed and mapped every ornament. Damaged pieces were recast from molds taken from intact ones, and new plaster was finished and painted to match the old. Not a single ornament was lost.
A fly tower behind a working wall
The theater had never had a fly loft, so touring shows could not use it. Under a CM at-risk contract, we built a new 90-foot fly tower and a deeper stage behind the historic proscenium. The back wall was shored and monitored for movement while the new steel rose behind it, and openings were cut only after the new structure took the load.
Most of the best work on this building is work you will never see. It is the wall that never moved and the ceiling that looks like it was always there.
Restoration superintendent, PerryWester
Built for the road
A counterweight rigging system, loading galleries and a loading dock sized for touring trucks were coordinated with theater consultants and road crews. Before opening night, the rigging was load-tested and the lighting and sound systems ran through a full technical rehearsal.
We are grateful to the owner, the design team and the preservation reviewers for their trust, and to every trade partner and craft professional who restored the theater. The recognition belongs to them.
