Story

Design: Tower Pinkster Contract: Competitively Bid Budget: $700,000 Supervision: Peter Leidlein, Project Manager and Mike Weed, Foreman. The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre first opened as the Majestic Theatre in 1903. Sobie Company is proud to have been awarded a large portion of the interior renovation of this historic building. One of the toughest challenges facing us was the compressed completion schedule. Only 18 weeks were allocated for construction before the musical "A Chorus Line" was to open the 81st season. All of the seating and the entire lower balcony were removed and a scaffold erected for the restoration and redecoration in the auditorium. The interior of the Greek Revival auditorium was carefully restored to include all elements of its original beauty. Sobie Company craftsmen cast numerous ornamental plaster shapes and moldings to replicate missing or damaged decorative elements in the arches above the orchestra and across the facade of the reconstructed balcony. Eighty plaster rosettes were carefully removed and modified or recast to accommodate installation of new light fixtures. Flat surfaces between the ceiling arches were reshaped into convex plaster surfaces. The new balcony ceiling and walls were reconstructed in complex curves to enhance the acoustical environment. Custom acoustical ceilings and wall panels were added to minimize distractions to the audience. The entire building team overcame many challenges of renovating a 103 year old building on a small site with no place to stock material. This also meant working long hours and every Saturday to meet the schedule. All major construction work was completed on schedule for the Grand Re-Opening of the new Meijer Majestic Theatre on September 20, 2006.