Stage Business
Friday, February 24, 2006
David Cuthbert
Theater writer
Saenger status
Although work continues on restoring the storm-damaged Saenger Theatre, do not expect a “Broadway in New Orleans” series this fall.
That’s the word from Claudia Garofalo, the theater’s general manager. “Unfortunately, repairing a building like the Saenger is a long process,” she said. “It could take as much as 12 to 18 months.
“But we are committed to the work involved in stabilizing and maintaining the building,” she said. Thus far, all water and sludge have been removed from the Saenger; bad dry wall was torn out, along with any sections of carpet that remained. (When Katrina hit, most carpeting and all seating was gone as part of a refurbishing effort.)
“But the drying-out procedure is an ongoing one,” Garofalo said. “The good news is that we have a completely new roof. Our next step will be the greatest challenge: the electrical repair and upgrading that’s needed, and the air-conditioning. Then will come the painting and interior renovation.
“We are being very careful every step of the way, because the Saenger is a New Orleans treasure and a very important part of our city.”
I see your point. But I actually like it better than the last one. The theatre name makes a big difference. I always disliked the last one because it was so plain.
I am more annoyed with the fact that they practically gutted the place and I still don’t understand (given the project’s stated purpose) why it had too happen. Whatever the case is, they seem to be making good progress.
Yeah. I saw the X-Files movie there, whatever year that was. All the theatres were packed that night. Line at the box office. It was a lot of fun. And yeah, it doesn’t greatly enhance the community to have a Shoe Carnival. I think the landlord blew it on this one. Even if retail does pay more rent the theatre drew people to the other businesses there when there are plenty of half-empty shopping malls in Chicagoland struggling to survive. Plus the theatre sounds like it was a reliable tenant. It’s a problem I see a lot in my business: there are a lot of guys out there who are too fixated on up-front money to pull back and see how the bigger picture can be more profitable.
Story passed down through the family about opening night is that they were asked to come up on stage and take a bow. They refused, causing a minor controversy. The story goes that they were unahappy with the design. This rings true, as Rapps tend to do two things: overachieve and suffer from inferiority.
The fire mentioned above is the source for some of the negative comments I have heard about the restoration. The upper lobby in question was not restored (only cleaned up). It could be argued that it doesn’t fit.
I was given a tour of the Oriental (and a hard hat) while the restoration work was in progress. We went up on scaffolds and walked above the auditorium, from the rear of the balcony to the stage opening. I was shown spots on the ceiling where original construction workers wrote their initials.
The first is this policy of shutting down discussions when they get a little heated. I can understand completely why you needed to shut down the Dupage Theatre board. Those people posted five to twenty times a day and diverted significant technical resources from other members because they were constantly online. The Lawford Theatre board, on the other hand, did not rise to that level. In fact, what discussion there was looked to me to winding down when you shut it off. This notion that every comment must be pretty does not reflect the reality of a task as complex as theatre renovation. Business is often rife with conflict and creating a public forum where such conflict can be discussed is, I think, valuable in many respects. Have people sometimes made statements that got a little emotional (myself included)? Yes. But debating the year that the Grateful Dead played the Uptown Theatre or whether the achitect of the State-Lake was was Mason or C.W. is not going to get America’s remaining great movie palaces on solid footing. That sort of discussion has a place. But people involved in renovation efforts who are chiefly focused on that sort of talk are likely fail. As I type I can read the diclaimer about inaccuracies at bottom. You have taken the legal precautions necessary to buffer yourself from such discussions. So I don’t understand what the problem is.
Furthermore, I don’t understand why you allow someone (who shall remain nameless) with a list of people (all over the country) hundreds long who say they have been burned use your site for purposes of business networking and publicity. I hardly think that supports you stated purpose of: “Discover, preserve, protect.” If every restoration firm had a similar rash of hateful postings and news articles, or if it were one party making all the accusations there would be room for discussion. But neither is the case.
I sent you a private email discussing my concerns. But you did not see fit to respond, even after many days had passed. So here it is in public.
About five years ago I was up in Madison. I had time on my hands and went to see an obscure foreign film at the Orpheum. I had a similar experience to that mentioned above: all auditorium lights off and me alone in that huge balcony. I left thinking that the Orpheum’s days must be numbered. Sounds like their business plan is passing the test of time, which is great news.
I have gotten mixed signals on this building. One report says that the Gateway condo deal has fallen apart. Another report says that it is still in progress. Anyone have new info to share?
Fellas: I think we are talking about two different theatres. This place was at 1664 Broadway. The Warner where Cinerama was installed was at 1585 Broadway. The later was open at least through the 60’s. From the looks of pictures at the link below it had many more than 1322 seats as well. I don’t see any listing for the Warner Cinerama on this site. But it could be disguised under another name.
Performing Arts Center Plans Put on Hold
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For months Mayor Doug Wilder has been battling the plan for a new Performing Arts Center along Broad Street. He’s raised concerns over public funding for the project and how planners are spending the money raised. On Wednesday the group backing the plan changed their vision for the project. The CEO and leader of the Performing Arts Foundation, Brad Armstrong, announced plans to step down from his position. He also said the entire organization is scaling back. The group said it will re-focus it’s efforts on a $43 million renovation and expansion project of the Carpenter Center. The foundation say it still plans to build the multi-million dollar facility at some point in the future. Armstrong said because of the controversy between the group and the Richmond Mayor, he will no longer depend on city funds. Armstrong’s resignation takes effect December 31st. Two years ago, Richmond City Council agreed to pass a meals tax referendum, meaning food and drink bought in the city have an added tax and that money would go to building the Performing Arts Center. Does that go away? Not yet. That money was to pay for pre-construction costs for the new downtown Performing Arts Center. Using credit, the city paid the foundation more than seven million dollars for those costs but the meals tax hasn’t raised all that money back yet. So until the city can repay itself for the money it already spent, the higher meals tax will stay on the books and city spokesman Bill Farrar says that could take at least a year, maybe longer. Things could get even more complicated because the Performing Arts Foundation claims the city still owes it an additional four million dollars and change. If that’s true, your Richmond restaurant bills may stay higher until the city can repay its final bill to the Foundation.
2005 Richmonder Of The Year
Jan 10, 2006, 03:44 AM CST Email to a Friend Printer Friendly Version
Mayor Doug Wilder
Style Weekly selects its “Richmonder of the Year” for 2005. Mayor Doug Wilder. Style Weekly says at 74, Mayor Doug Wilder is still going strong and that he’s been a dominating force when it comes to the way Richmond spends its money, including the fight to build a multi-million dollar Performing Arts Center downtown. The project crumbled under pressure from Wilder’s public criticism. Now arts groups are working with the mayor to fix the aging Carpenter Center and plans to build a new ballpark in Shockoe Bottom never made it to first base. “We have made Richmond government more accountable and more responsible…few months ago people were calling me the ‘Oger,’…the bad guy because I dare to even question,” says Wilder. Read more about 2005’s Richmonder of the Year in this week’s issue of Style Weekly. It hits newsstands Wednesday
I think that Landmark Century complex opened in the 90’s. The Parkway went under in the 80’s. I’ve heard the entire ceiling of the Parkway still exists.
Was in Rockford on business today. The Times Theatre today looks exactly as it does in the photo above. Judging by the lobby the building is in a decent state of repair. There are cryptic political messages spelled out on the marquee.
Great news about the Fox. Reading between the lines of that press release, I get the idea that the UA is going to come down but that they are considering reuse options for the Adams. SNWEB’s pictures seem to back that view up in that the Adams appears to be more substantially intact.
SNWEB: your pictures are fascinating. But you should think twice about going into these half-crumbled buildings. When I was younger I made trips like that and consider it only luck that I didn’t get my ass kicked any number of ways (homeless person, security guard, gang member with weapons, falling plaster, tripping and falling down a staircase in the dark, happening upon spilled hazardous materials and getting sick). There was a photographer like you in Chicago some years ago. I think his name was Richard Nickel but I am not sure. He went into the old stock exchange when it was in the process of being demolished. A wall must have collapsed on top of the guy because he was never seen again.
Fascinating. I completely missed this development. I went through the building in the 90’s. Looked to me like the lobby was mostly intact. The removed balcony section could be replaced. When the Sioux City Orpheum was un-twinned they had to replace the front balcony section. I imagine the stage would probably be expanded and re-fitted in a restoration anyway. So loss of the old one not a big deal in my book. Decoration lost around the b-ball court could be recast. Plenty of movie palaces in the process of being restored over the last thirty years have replaced decoration destroyed by water damage or remodeling. I got the impression that those classrooms in the balcony were basically perched up there within the auditorium shell with access from some old passageway. So my guess is that the back of the house hasn’t been destroyed. But I didn’t go up to verify. All of that is to say that restoration doesn’t appear to be a ridiculous notion. The biggest obstacle in my book, at least given the the impression I have of the structural issues, is finding a viable use for the restored auditorium. Does LIU need 4,000 seats for it’s preforming arts functions? I don’t know the answer to that question. There was certainly a large arts complex were I went to school: U. of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. But I don’t know how LIU’s siuation compares.
Closed in the 70’s, torched in the 80’s, “open to the winds” (as a friend of mine says) for many years.
The theatre is slated to be restored in the process of building a twenty-story condo complex above it.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I believe a complete restoration of the Keith’s is viable. There aren’t enough facts. But I’ve got to believe they can do better than this glass wall.
I was lucky enough to draw jury duty today (yes, that is sarcasm). I walked by the Ford Center on my way to eat lunch. It was great to see a long line of people waiting to buy tickets for the latest musical (called Wicked). The line was just as long when I walked back to the Daley Center after lunch (and on my way to the subway at the end of the day). It was also great to see the lobby brightly lit and full of activity. They have installed green light bulbs in the marquee and painted parts of the marquee green to match the marketing materials for the show (similar to the enthusiasm I have seen displayed in old pictures of big movie premiers). Some have argued with aspects of the restoration. But I find it difficult to entertain such a discussion when I compare today’s memories to the the recollections I have of walking by the dingy Oriental Electronics store that occupied the lobby in the mid 80’s.
Stage Business
Friday, February 24, 2006
David Cuthbert
Theater writer
Saenger status
Although work continues on restoring the storm-damaged Saenger Theatre, do not expect a “Broadway in New Orleans” series this fall.
That’s the word from Claudia Garofalo, the theater’s general manager. “Unfortunately, repairing a building like the Saenger is a long process,” she said. “It could take as much as 12 to 18 months.
“But we are committed to the work involved in stabilizing and maintaining the building,” she said. Thus far, all water and sludge have been removed from the Saenger; bad dry wall was torn out, along with any sections of carpet that remained. (When Katrina hit, most carpeting and all seating was gone as part of a refurbishing effort.)
“But the drying-out procedure is an ongoing one,” Garofalo said. “The good news is that we have a completely new roof. Our next step will be the greatest challenge: the electrical repair and upgrading that’s needed, and the air-conditioning. Then will come the painting and interior renovation.
“We are being very careful every step of the way, because the Saenger is a New Orleans treasure and a very important part of our city.”
I see your point. But I actually like it better than the last one. The theatre name makes a big difference. I always disliked the last one because it was so plain.
I am more annoyed with the fact that they practically gutted the place and I still don’t understand (given the project’s stated purpose) why it had too happen. Whatever the case is, they seem to be making good progress.
Yeah. I saw the X-Files movie there, whatever year that was. All the theatres were packed that night. Line at the box office. It was a lot of fun. And yeah, it doesn’t greatly enhance the community to have a Shoe Carnival. I think the landlord blew it on this one. Even if retail does pay more rent the theatre drew people to the other businesses there when there are plenty of half-empty shopping malls in Chicagoland struggling to survive. Plus the theatre sounds like it was a reliable tenant. It’s a problem I see a lot in my business: there are a lot of guys out there who are too fixated on up-front money to pull back and see how the bigger picture can be more profitable.
Story passed down through the family about opening night is that they were asked to come up on stage and take a bow. They refused, causing a minor controversy. The story goes that they were unahappy with the design. This rings true, as Rapps tend to do two things: overachieve and suffer from inferiority.
The fire mentioned above is the source for some of the negative comments I have heard about the restoration. The upper lobby in question was not restored (only cleaned up). It could be argued that it doesn’t fit.
I was given a tour of the Oriental (and a hard hat) while the restoration work was in progress. We went up on scaffolds and walked above the auditorium, from the rear of the balcony to the stage opening. I was shown spots on the ceiling where original construction workers wrote their initials.
Cool. Sounds like there is evidence supporting the idea that they are making a go of things.
The rebuilt marquee is pretty cool. The “SKOKIE” letters have been replaced on either side above the attraction boards.
What is your relationship to this current success Paul?
Patrick:
I take issue with your actions on two counts.
The first is this policy of shutting down discussions when they get a little heated. I can understand completely why you needed to shut down the Dupage Theatre board. Those people posted five to twenty times a day and diverted significant technical resources from other members because they were constantly online. The Lawford Theatre board, on the other hand, did not rise to that level. In fact, what discussion there was looked to me to winding down when you shut it off. This notion that every comment must be pretty does not reflect the reality of a task as complex as theatre renovation. Business is often rife with conflict and creating a public forum where such conflict can be discussed is, I think, valuable in many respects. Have people sometimes made statements that got a little emotional (myself included)? Yes. But debating the year that the Grateful Dead played the Uptown Theatre or whether the achitect of the State-Lake was was Mason or C.W. is not going to get America’s remaining great movie palaces on solid footing. That sort of discussion has a place. But people involved in renovation efforts who are chiefly focused on that sort of talk are likely fail. As I type I can read the diclaimer about inaccuracies at bottom. You have taken the legal precautions necessary to buffer yourself from such discussions. So I don’t understand what the problem is.
Furthermore, I don’t understand why you allow someone (who shall remain nameless) with a list of people (all over the country) hundreds long who say they have been burned use your site for purposes of business networking and publicity. I hardly think that supports you stated purpose of: “Discover, preserve, protect.” If every restoration firm had a similar rash of hateful postings and news articles, or if it were one party making all the accusations there would be room for discussion. But neither is the case.
I sent you a private email discussing my concerns. But you did not see fit to respond, even after many days had passed. So here it is in public.
About five years ago I was up in Madison. I had time on my hands and went to see an obscure foreign film at the Orpheum. I had a similar experience to that mentioned above: all auditorium lights off and me alone in that huge balcony. I left thinking that the Orpheum’s days must be numbered. Sounds like their business plan is passing the test of time, which is great news.
/theaters/2266/
What is this plan that Rebirth is speaking of?
I have gotten mixed signals on this building. One report says that the Gateway condo deal has fallen apart. Another report says that it is still in progress. Anyone have new info to share?
Fellas: I think we are talking about two different theatres. This place was at 1664 Broadway. The Warner where Cinerama was installed was at 1585 Broadway. The later was open at least through the 60’s. From the looks of pictures at the link below it had many more than 1322 seats as well. I don’t see any listing for the Warner Cinerama on this site. But it could be disguised under another name.
http://cinerama.topcities.com/ctwarner.htm
Performing Arts Center Plans Put on Hold
Email to a Friend Printer Friendly Version
For months Mayor Doug Wilder has been battling the plan for a new Performing Arts Center along Broad Street. He’s raised concerns over public funding for the project and how planners are spending the money raised. On Wednesday the group backing the plan changed their vision for the project. The CEO and leader of the Performing Arts Foundation, Brad Armstrong, announced plans to step down from his position. He also said the entire organization is scaling back. The group said it will re-focus it’s efforts on a $43 million renovation and expansion project of the Carpenter Center. The foundation say it still plans to build the multi-million dollar facility at some point in the future. Armstrong said because of the controversy between the group and the Richmond Mayor, he will no longer depend on city funds. Armstrong’s resignation takes effect December 31st. Two years ago, Richmond City Council agreed to pass a meals tax referendum, meaning food and drink bought in the city have an added tax and that money would go to building the Performing Arts Center. Does that go away? Not yet. That money was to pay for pre-construction costs for the new downtown Performing Arts Center. Using credit, the city paid the foundation more than seven million dollars for those costs but the meals tax hasn’t raised all that money back yet. So until the city can repay itself for the money it already spent, the higher meals tax will stay on the books and city spokesman Bill Farrar says that could take at least a year, maybe longer. Things could get even more complicated because the Performing Arts Foundation claims the city still owes it an additional four million dollars and change. If that’s true, your Richmond restaurant bills may stay higher until the city can repay its final bill to the Foundation.
2005 Richmonder Of The Year
Jan 10, 2006, 03:44 AM CST Email to a Friend Printer Friendly Version
Mayor Doug Wilder
Style Weekly selects its “Richmonder of the Year” for 2005. Mayor Doug Wilder. Style Weekly says at 74, Mayor Doug Wilder is still going strong and that he’s been a dominating force when it comes to the way Richmond spends its money, including the fight to build a multi-million dollar Performing Arts Center downtown. The project crumbled under pressure from Wilder’s public criticism. Now arts groups are working with the mayor to fix the aging Carpenter Center and plans to build a new ballpark in Shockoe Bottom never made it to first base. “We have made Richmond government more accountable and more responsible…few months ago people were calling me the ‘Oger,’…the bad guy because I dare to even question,” says Wilder. Read more about 2005’s Richmonder of the Year in this week’s issue of Style Weekly. It hits newsstands Wednesday
That’s a new marquee at least. I saw this building in the late 80’s & at that time it had a marquee that was far less ornamental.
That 1937 flood is unreal. Where did the floodwaters come from and what prompted water levels to rise so drastically?
I think that Landmark Century complex opened in the 90’s. The Parkway went under in the 80’s. I’ve heard the entire ceiling of the Parkway still exists.
Happened by this place today. It does look a little tired, although in good repair. The only tenant in the office building appears to be the 501©(3) running the place. No shows currently listed. There were posters for theatre productions earlier in 2005. I didn’t get the feeling that it is exactly a hive of activity.
Was in Rockford on business today. The Times Theatre today looks exactly as it does in the photo above. Judging by the lobby the building is in a decent state of repair. There are cryptic political messages spelled out on the marquee.
Great news about the Fox. Reading between the lines of that press release, I get the idea that the UA is going to come down but that they are considering reuse options for the Adams. SNWEB’s pictures seem to back that view up in that the Adams appears to be more substantially intact.
SNWEB: your pictures are fascinating. But you should think twice about going into these half-crumbled buildings. When I was younger I made trips like that and consider it only luck that I didn’t get my ass kicked any number of ways (homeless person, security guard, gang member with weapons, falling plaster, tripping and falling down a staircase in the dark, happening upon spilled hazardous materials and getting sick). There was a photographer like you in Chicago some years ago. I think his name was Richard Nickel but I am not sure. He went into the old stock exchange when it was in the process of being demolished. A wall must have collapsed on top of the guy because he was never seen again.
Fascinating. I completely missed this development. I went through the building in the 90’s. Looked to me like the lobby was mostly intact. The removed balcony section could be replaced. When the Sioux City Orpheum was un-twinned they had to replace the front balcony section. I imagine the stage would probably be expanded and re-fitted in a restoration anyway. So loss of the old one not a big deal in my book. Decoration lost around the b-ball court could be recast. Plenty of movie palaces in the process of being restored over the last thirty years have replaced decoration destroyed by water damage or remodeling. I got the impression that those classrooms in the balcony were basically perched up there within the auditorium shell with access from some old passageway. So my guess is that the back of the house hasn’t been destroyed. But I didn’t go up to verify. All of that is to say that restoration doesn’t appear to be a ridiculous notion. The biggest obstacle in my book, at least given the the impression I have of the structural issues, is finding a viable use for the restored auditorium. Does LIU need 4,000 seats for it’s preforming arts functions? I don’t know the answer to that question. There was certainly a large arts complex were I went to school: U. of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. But I don’t know how LIU’s siuation compares.
http://cinematreasures.org/news/10218_0_1_0_C/
The exact condition of the Keith’s seems to be a matter of debate. Nevertheless, read the story of the Carolina Theatre:
/theaters/689/
Closed in the 70’s, torched in the 80’s, “open to the winds” (as a friend of mine says) for many years.
The theatre is slated to be restored in the process of building a twenty-story condo complex above it.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I believe a complete restoration of the Keith’s is viable. There aren’t enough facts. But I’ve got to believe they can do better than this glass wall.
I was lucky enough to draw jury duty today (yes, that is sarcasm). I walked by the Ford Center on my way to eat lunch. It was great to see a long line of people waiting to buy tickets for the latest musical (called Wicked). The line was just as long when I walked back to the Daley Center after lunch (and on my way to the subway at the end of the day). It was also great to see the lobby brightly lit and full of activity. They have installed green light bulbs in the marquee and painted parts of the marquee green to match the marketing materials for the show (similar to the enthusiasm I have seen displayed in old pictures of big movie premiers). Some have argued with aspects of the restoration. But I find it difficult to entertain such a discussion when I compare today’s memories to the the recollections I have of walking by the dingy Oriental Electronics store that occupied the lobby in the mid 80’s.