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Restorations
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June 16, 2017
Hot Springs, AR - Historic theater in Arkansas restored; shows planned to start at venue this summer
From Arkansas Online: For a second time, a magician has regained ownership of a historic Arkansas theater, with plans to once again perform magic at the venue.
Maxwell Blade first acquired the Malco Theatre, 817 Central Ave. in downtown Hot Springs, in 1995 when he and his family moved to the city, the Sentinel-Record reported.
Blade performed magic at the venue for nearly 10 years before moving out in 2007. He then moved to another downtown location at 121 Central Ave. He regained possession last year.
Once reopened, the renovated 395-seat theater will be equipped with a new digital marquee, velvet curtains and large projection screens — all in keeping with building’s “aesthetics,” the magician said.
The magician told the Sentinel-Record that he plans to open the theater the weekend of July 4 for his first show.
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June 7, 2017
San Francisco, CA - The show will again go on at long dormant Presidio theater
From the San Francisco Chronicle: The methodical restoration of the Presidio’s Main Post has transformed military barracks into museums. Homes built for officers now house investment firms. The guardhouse is a visitors center.
So there’s something anticlimatic but satisfying in the plans for the Spanish Revival movie theater that has sat empty since the U.S. Army handed off the Presidio to the National Park Service in 1994. A $30 million makeover will bring the atmospheric relic back to life — life as a theater, a variation of the only role it ever played.
“My father and I came here 45 years ago to watch Hal Holbrook do ‘Mark Twain,’” said Margaret “Peggy” Haas, whose foundation will develop the building with the blessing of the Presidio Trust, which manages nearly all of the 1,491-acre enclave at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. “We want it to be a space that’s as flexible as possible, and affordable as well.”
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Duluth, MN Historic Duluth theater rehab over half done, and uncovering secrets-
From the Post Bulletin: The restoration of the historic NorShor Theatre in Duluth, a project intended to anchor a revitalized downtown arts district, is now more than half finished.
Officials announced Wednesday the $30.5 million project is 60 percent complete, and is on pace to wrap up construction by the end of the year, with a grand opening planned for Feb. 1, 2018.
“It’s amazing what’s going on here, and it won’t be long before we will have our new community arts center,” said Christine Gradl Seitz, executive and artistic director of the Duluth Playhouse, a nonprofit that will operate the theatre when it opens.
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May 31, 2017
Cleveland, OH - Cleveland’s historic Variety Theatre preservation campaign gets a boost
From Cleveland.com: Cleveland’s historic Variety Theatre is the recipient of a This Place Matters award from The National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The theater at West 118th Street and Lorain, currently the subject of a long-term preservation campaign, will receive the award at a public ceremony in front of the theater at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 7. The event is free and open to the public.
The award is meant to showcase historic structures that matter to people across the United States. The Variety, which will be 90 years old in November, was chosen based on its history and photos, says Ward 11 Councilwoman Dona Brady. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of historic structures such as the Variety; it is not a monetary award.
“What makes this so important is that it gives the Variety Theater national attention from people who care about the preservation of treasures like the Variety,” says Brady.
Mike Wolfe, creator and star of the History Channel’s “American Pickers” series and owner of Antique Archaeology, will appear to present the award. He will also be named the honorary chairman of the Variety’s fundraising efforts. Wolfe launched the This Place Matters Campaign with The National Trust for Historic Preservation last year. He learned of the Variety thanks to former Clevelander Jayne Ansberry, a singer now residing in Nashville.
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May 24, 2017
Brooklyn, NY - LIU Brooklyn Paramount Theatre Begins Major Renovation This Fall
From Amplify Magazine: The iconic LIU Brooklyn Paramount Theatre – the first in the world to show talking movies – is set to undergo a major renovation before reopening as a live music venue. The downtown Brooklyn theatre’s facelift will begin this fall and is scheduled for completion before 2019, according to a statement released by theatre officials today. The project aims to restore the historic theatre to its former glory, provide additional opportunities for LIU Brooklyn students and will modernize the venue to meet today’s entertainment standards. The venue, when it reopens, will have a capacity of up to 3,000, with a flexible seating configuration that will accommodate mostly general admission-style setups. However, there also is an opportunity for seated floor events as well, theatre officials said. The venue will open loge-level seating and include premium VIP areas.
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May 23, 2017
Gowanda, NY - Gowanda’s Historic Hollywood Theater restoration nears end
From the Salamanca Press: The light at the end of the restoration tunnel is visible at the Historic Hollywood Theater.
It has taken more than 20 years and lots of work from volunteers and craftsmen to get the the theater into the condition it is today at 39 W. Main St.. A family-owned Buffalo restoration company, Swiatek Studios, has restored the ceiling and portions of the walls of the 990-seat theater, including a 22-foot convex dome at its center of the ceiling. The dome changes color on a ceiling that took the company four months to clean and preserve.
Some of the walls have been restored as well, including plaster mouldings, rosettes and other decorative pieces.
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May 2, 2017
Bellefontaine, OH - Effort Underway To Restore Past Glory Of Historic Holland Theatre
From WYSO.org: Picture it – Bellefontaine, Ohio 1931. You’ve taken a seat inside the new Holland Theatre.
High upon the theatre walls around you is a 17th century Dutch cityscape – rows of nearly life-sized houses, their window boxes filled with tulips that wave in the breeze. Several large, slowly turning windmills are also there and above you, a bright blue sky; billowy clouds float by.
In front of you, the largest movie screen in the state fills the stage. And, as you’re watching the popular films of the day, your brain registers that things are changing all around you. The daytime-sky above falls into dusk, and then into a night-time sky filled with thousands of tiny, shining stars. Candlelit windows on the Dutch houses give the impression of life inside.
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April 29, 2017
Lakeview, OR - Efforts underway to revive historic theater to former glory
From the Herald and News: In Hollywood’s golden era, grand movie theaters sprung up in towns across the country to showcase the latest Charlie Chaplin, Abbott & Costello or Lewis & Martin laugh-fest. While the era of fluorescents, marquees and drive-ins have almost completely disappeared in favor of iMax and modern stadium theaters, a group in Lakeview are working to revive a forgotten time when the local theater was the centerpiece of small town social life.
Like most smaller communities, Lakeview once had multiple theaters and a drive-in offering the latest cartoons, newsreels, serials and double features of westerns and classic Hollywood glam. Today, none remain in operation in the area. The Marius Theater decades ago was converted into office space, and the drive-in is now a vacant lot. Yet the Alger Theater, constructed in 1940, still stands, unused except for the occasional special concert or film premiere. Its décor is reminiscent of the art-decco era with a 1940s Hollywood’s bygone sentimental era. A walk inside is a trip through time back to classic Hollywood instantly sparking nostalgic memories for those who lived it and others who have only heard the stories or seen it recreated in popular films like The Majestic.
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April 20, 2017
Baltimore, MD - A look at the grand restoration of the historic Parkway Theatre
From the Baltimore Business Journal: The Maryland Film Festival is preparing to move into the Parkway Theatre at Charles Street and North Avenue this week as famous Baltimore filmmakers Barry Levinson, John Waters and David Simon will be on hand Thursday for a gala there.
The $18.2 million renovations began last year at the site that had been vacant for 40 years, said Jed Dietz, director of the Maryland Film Festival. The nonprofit purchased the theater and the old “Chicken Box,” building located next to it from the city for $1 in 2012 after the Baltimore Development Corp. sought the redevelopment of the corner into a cultural center to add to the growing cultural space in the community.
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March 9, 2017
Corpus Christi, TX - Local non-profit, PATCH, asks city to help restore the Ritz Theater
From KRIStv.com: A local non-profit group called PATCH is asking the city to help them save the old Ritz Theater downtown. The group says it needs help funding the restoration of the building in order to bring more visitors to the downtown area.
The historic theater was built in 1929 but needs a full renovation. The roof needs to be replaced, major plumbing repairs to get the bathrooms up and running for guests and over-all, needs a lot of T.L.C.
So members of pitch are asking the city to help by financially backing the group.
There was no decision from the city today (Tuesday) on any sort of financial backing, but the discussions will continue.