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Show Renovation Efforts Underway at Egyptian Theater If you. have walked along upper Main Street lately, you probably have stumbled on -or at' least noticed - the piles of rubble being removed from the Silver Wheel (Egyptian) Theatre. It may not look like much, but those remains of old props and concession stands represent the beginning of a new era for performing arts in Park City. By October, the theatre will officially be returned to its original name, "The Egyptian," Egypt-ian," and audiences will enjoy an enlarged lobby, a re-designed stage and new technical equipment. The decor, right down to pharoah head lighting fixtures, will emphasize the original E-gyptian E-gyptian revival architecture popoular when the theatre was built for vaudeville and silent movies in 1926. Don Gomes, executive director di-rector of Park City Performances, Perform-ances, is managing the renovation which is being undertaken by the owners of the theatre, Silver Mill of ' Park City. When Park City Performances begins programming pro-gramming the theatre in October, Gomes says, "In all ways, we will have one of the finest performing arts facilities facilit-ies in the Intermountain area. And, we're not only involved in the historic preservation of a vital facility, but also an infusion into the business community and a revitalization of performing per-forming arts in Park City. We're especially grateful to Silver Mill of Park City for their commitment to preser- p g ijiitiijmywmwwyj" nmiWki.tngCTWi?i-j.i m i ' wiwumn'i ,;m f mm ip..m t.'m I v-- - ! " ! :: r J i .:- 4 T - i ; r n .., ! lt- ... ...... i ;., JuJ I - i ' - V t - . :'. Paul DeGroot and Kim BoIIey look over renovations at the Silver Wheel Theatre vation and their financial investment in making this happen." Paul DeGroot of Park City is the contractor in charge of construction. During the past two weeks, he and his crew have been tearing out walls and readying new construction. construct-ion. DeGroot, whose local projects have included renovation reno-vation of the Blue Church Lodge and the Meyer Gallery, Gall-ery, has worked on historic buildings as far away as Harpers Ferry, W. Va., and Lewes, Del. Working with him on the Egyptian are Kim Boley, Mark Walsh, Bill Peck and Larry Peck. Local actors and theatre fans, such as Fred Hightowner and Peter Holdorf, are lending assistance in clearing out rubble and tearing down walls. According to DeGroot, "To me, this is a renovation project, which is different from a remodeling. It means , bringing the structure back to" its original aesthetics while incorporating new a-menities a-menities and technical equipment - like modern oathrooms and a more comfortable lobby. Park City has excellent opportunities for renovating, rather than ripping down existing structures; struc-tures; and I hope to see builders do more of this in the future." Kim Boley points out that many of the walls being torn out inside the theatre are I "interim structures" that j .vere added after the building build-ing was first constructed, t "So, in many ways, we are ' taking the theatre back to what it was in 1926," he says. "It's exciting to see that the theatre can become , clean and comfortable while i preserving its original look." One of the most interesting . components of the renovation renovat-ion work is the discovery of old theatre memorabilia in , dark corners and among the dust and litter that has piled up over the years. Old programs tell the tales of early performances, and an I old building permit gives a clue of earlier construction work. One long-forgotten poster advertises the auctioning auct-ioning of a lot on Woodside, and a batch of 5 cent tickets remind us of pre-inflation times. Particularly interesting interest-ing is a stack of theatre pass coupons with the heading "Money Night at the Egyptian Egypt-ian - 1935.' Each is (signeclby local residents who appar- ently joined the festivities that night, including, "Jack Green of 421 Park Avenue." The renovation work will continue through September and early October, with completion scheduled just before the gala re-opening cf the Egyptian on October 10. |
