What's going on in San Angelo ?
Workers polishing theater's past
By PAUL A. ANTHONY, panthony@sastandardtimes.com or 659-8237
July 27, 2006
Standing apparently as a sign of things to come, the frame of a ticket booth - freshly built with yellow wood - contrasted sharply Wednesday with its surroundings of dim light, gouged walls and rubble.
Within weeks, the finished booth will be part of the new, more welcoming entrance to the long-vacant Texas Theatre, the exterior renovation of which received approval Wednesday from the San Angelo Historic Preservation Commission.
''It's going to be hard to get it back to the way it was originally,'' architect Henry Schmidt told the commission, ''but we're going to try.''
If Schmidt receives a building permit in time, work on the Texas' exterior could begin as early as today, he said. Such work includes plastering over unsightly ceramic tile added to the facade in the 1950s, restoring neon-style lights to the theater's marquee and removing aluminum doors that cover what used to be the theater's entryway.
The theater, built in 1929 but left essentially unused since 1985, bears the scars of mid-century renovations - so much so, curator Glen Carr said, that the exterior will feature dueling time periods. The base will look like the 1930s, the facade and roof like the 1950s.
''You've got people who want the '30s back and people that want the '50s,'' Carr said.
The push to renovate the Texas and turn it into a playhouse and part-time movie theater has been led by San Antonio stage producer and director Cal Collins, who bought the theater in June.
Since then, work has begun inside, with walls removed, newer plaster ripped down and debris cleared out.
Because the building is designated a local historic landmark, any changes require approval by the preservation commission, Schmidt said. The approval - given with no qualms by a 5-0 vote - was the final official hurdle to be crossed before proceeding with work on completing the theater's renovation.
On Wednesday, the theater was a mix of old and new - with original tile from 1929 exposed along one wall, and nearby the in-progress ticket booth awaiting its time in the sun.
Much work remains. Collins initially set a two-year target date on the renovation, Schmidt said, which would place completion during the summer of 2008. Between repainting the expansive domed ceiling, replacing seats and renovating the basement, the inside remains in greater need of repair than the outside.
''He's very enthusiastic,'' Schmidt said of Collins. ''The last six weeks, he's been going gangbusters, but he's started to slow down.''
source: http://www.sanangelostandardtimes.com/sast/news_local/article/0,1897,SAST_4956_4873726,00.html
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