Historic Theater Restoration and Fly Tower
A 1920s movie palace brought back plaster by plaster, with a new fly tower that lets it host the touring shows its stage was never built for.
- Owner
- Confidential
- Location
- U.S.
- Market
- Cultural & Performing Arts
- Delivery
- CM at-risk
- Scale
- 1,900 seats
- Completed
- 2024
A 1920s movie palace restored plaster by plaster, with a new fly tower and rigging that let it host touring productions from its reopening night.
The theater had sat dark for years. Its ornamental plaster ceiling was cracked and stained, its stage was too shallow for touring productions, and it had no fly loft at all. A new 90-foot fly tower and a deeper stage had to rise behind the historic proscenium without disturbing the plaster, and the house needed new seating, HVAC and life safety hidden behind finishes that preservation reviewers would approve.
The approach.
- 01
Plaster documented first
Every ornament was scanned, photographed and mapped before work began, and damaged pieces were recast from molds taken from intact ones.
- 02
A fly tower behind a working wall
The back wall was shored and monitored for movement while the new tower rose behind it, and openings were cut only after new steel took the load.
- 03
Rigging built for the road
Counterweight rigging, loading galleries and a dock sized for touring trucks were coordinated with theater consultants and road crews.
- 04
A full technical rehearsal
Rigging, lighting and sound were load-tested and run through a complete technical rehearsal before opening night.
The outcome.
“We took molds from the ceiling before we touched it. Some of those flowers are a hundred years old and some are a month old, and you cannot tell.”
Restoration superintendent, PerryWester
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