NEW ORLEANS, LA — Advertising for bids to begin restoration work on the Saenger Theater in the Big Easy which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina’s flood waters will begin in January. A recent article indicates that the plans will not simply restore the theater to its pre-Katrina appearance, but will result in the theater’s looking more like it did when it opened in 1927 by removing later additions such as the escalator, restoring the auditorium’s original color scheme, and using period hardware. The article includes diagrams and a picture of the damaged interior.

Out of the darkness that has prevailed since Hurricane Katrina, the bulbs of the Saenger’s giant marquee are expected to blink on to mark the coming return of the landmark playhouse that for years anchored the performing arts district along the city’s signature commercial boulevard.

The $38.8 million reconstruction of performance, patron and office space through an innovative alliance of the Canal Street Development Corp., an arm of City Hall, and the property’s longtime private owner-managers, Saenger Theatre Partnership of Houston, was announced to great fanfare in January. Until now, though, most progress has transpired on architects’ drawing boards and in negotiations with financiers.

More at NOLA.com .

LOS ANGELES, CA — The current owner of the Los Angeles and Palace theaters has committed to renovate the Palace and Los Angeles theaters on Broadway if the city will build a new parking facility between 6th and 7th streets.

The project, which would require another $2 million in tenant relocation and $31 million in pre-development and construction costs, would result in several hundred new spaces for uses along Broadway.

While Broadway has a number of parking garages, a recent study showed that these structures are near 100% occupancy during the day. Many close at night, and several structures have recently made exclusive arrangements with residential properties.

Read more at blogdowntown.com. 

OWOSSO, MI — The Owosso Community Players, owner of the Lebowsky Center, hopes to have the theater, gutted by an arson fire (still unsolved) on February 14, 2007, enclosed again by winter. They are expecting an answer within a couple of weeks whether they would get a $350,000 to $400,000 grant to pay for enclosing the theater.

They are working with a construction company in Grand Rapids which restored the Wealthy Theatre there. The OCP is committed to completely restoring the theater which is estimated to cost $5 million to do. 

Originally, OCP was hoping to reconstruct both the Lebowsky Center and the West Annex, but Peterson said the goal has narrowed.

“As we have refined the project, we feel that the priority is to rebuild the Lebowsky Center and that is the piece of the project we are focusing on,” Peterson said.

The grant’s approval would mean constructing a new roof and enclosing the center from the elements. The OCP has said it remains committed to a full restoration of the center - which is projected to cost about $5 million.

Additional info from the Argus-Press.

DANBURY, CT - The city of Danbury, CT has awarded a contract to JCJ Architecture to determine the cost of renovations to the Palace Theater which opened in 1926 and closed as a twin in 1995. The study will also provide a determination as to how best to operate the theater after renovations have been completed. JCJ and its associate, AMS Planning & Research Corp., have been involved in a number of theater renovation projects, including the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center and the New Amsterdam Theater in NYC.

And part of the firm’s larger team — AMS Planning & Research Corp. of Fairfield — has worked with many theaters in Connecticut and around the United States on theater management.

“We recognized from the beginning of this that no one firm could do everything,’’ Elpern said of the combination of the two companies. “AMS has a wealth of experience on what’s needed to successfully operate a theater.’’

Read more in the News Times.

HELENA-WEST HELENA, AK — A group of students at Central High School have decided to put their energies towards restoring and re-opening the town’s former twin cinema, including doing at least some of the actual renovation work themselves with local business support. Their teacher made the proposal to the area Quorum Court (the county government board) recently, which agreed to study
the extent to which the county could lend its backing.

Fox reported that the first seven months rent on the building would be waived.
“These kids are ready to begin work on the theater and have had several businesses say they will help with donations or materials,” stated Fox.

According to Fox, most of the building’s wiring would have to be replaced, as would many seats and restroom facilities. The project would include a lot of other major renovations since the building has been vacant for the past 15 years.

More details in the Daily World.

WAYNE, NE — “Project Majestic” has been launched to completely renovate and re-open the town’s former Twin Theater (also known as and listed here on Cinema Treasures as the Gay Theater). Closed since 2008, the renovated theater will be re-born as single screen theater with a stage to host community events as well as films.

Initially, fellow steering committee member Reggie Yates said, plans were to clean up the theater, maybe give it some fresh paint, and reopen it. But people decided, no, they’d still be left with the same old theater with the same old seats and the same dirty floor.

So the committee decided that the 50-year-old building’s interior would get a complete makeover. The theater will be handicapped-accessible and seat about 100 people in front of a single screen. Moviegoers will be treated to the latest in digital projection and sound. The seats will have cup holders — the one feature nearly everyone has asked about, Yates said.

Read more in the Sioux City Journal. 

BERKELEY, CA — As reported on August 18 plans to convert the UC Theater in Berkeley are moving along. Although the theater was never a “palace,” the new owners are preserving many architectural details according to this article from the San Francisco Chronicle, which includes some pre-renovation pictures.

Gone will be the dusty blue velvet seats, but the rest of the UC’s mish-mash decor will likely be preserved, Mayeri said. That includes the Egyptian Art Deco trim, the tulip murals and the ornate grillwork encasing the organ loft.

The 1917 building has already been seismically retrofit and outfitted with sprinklers, so most of the renovation work will be soundproofing and cosmetic, Mayeri said.

In the case of the UC, “cosmetic” is a broad term. Unlike other historic single-screen movie palaces around the Bay Area, the UC lacks many gleaming adornments and gilded flourishes. The theater was gutted in a fire in the 1940s and rebuilt with a decidedly spartan motif.

SIOUX FALLS, SD — Now used for live performances, the Sioux Falls Orpheum Theatre has replaced the former cinema’s 70s-era plastic-backed seats with new seats more reminiscent in design of those that were in place when the theater originally opened as a vaudeville house in 1913. Other improvements have been funded over the last five years. Restoration of the mural above the auditorium is also in the works. The 1926 State Theater has undergone roof repairs, tuck pointing and asbestos removal, and other upgrades, and the hope is that it will return as a cinema.

The latest upgrades to the Orpheum Theater will be unveiled today when it re-opens in downtown Sioux Falls, and the enhancements should give visitors a sense of what the venue looked like when it opened in 1913.

New seats in the historic theater are styled from the era, and improvements also include Vaudeville-like designed carpet and different shades of fresh paint accenting the turn-of-the-century architecture inside.

The theater’s rebirth reflects a five-year trend in downtown Sioux Falls as several other historic building restoration projects continue, including improvements at the State Theatre and the Coliseum.

There are pictures of the Orpheum and more details of the ongoing work at both theaters in this article from the ArgusLeader.

HERNANDO, MS — Memories and stories about the former Von (later called the Bon) Theater are being sought as a part of a recently launched drive to raise funds for the theater’s restoration.

"We’re still in the discussion stage,” attorney Billy Myers said. “What we’re doing right now is getting information together about what other towns are doing. Quite a good number of towns have renovated their old movie houses and turned them into local community theaters and places for the arts. Our goal is to restore it to its original architectural significance. Obviously, there are a myriad of uses for it, and a community theater is one of those.”

Before that can happen, funding has to be obtained. Documentation of the building’s past has to be provided.

Read the full story in the Clarion-Ledger.

WEST BOUNTIFUL, UT — Despite a recent ownership change, new renovations are coming to the temporarily shuttered Gateway 8 Cinemas.

However, movie goers do not have to fear traveling to Salt Lake City for too long or worry about whether the theater will stay in its current location. Spencer Marsden, a former Bountiful resident and graduate of Bountiful High School, said the theater will remain intact.

“We’re renovating the whole thing,” he said."“We want to create an environment in which customers have a memorable and fun experience at the movies.

“This theater is an integral part of the community, and we want it to be a place where families, couples, and people of all ages can go and have a great time from the moment they enter the theater to the moment they leave."

Read the full story in the Davis County Clipper.