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Civic Theatre Renovation


joeDowntown

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Dave,

The Marquee I am referring to was installed in the last couple of years and had an LED display. it looked like a sore thumb. I hope the new signage screams "old theatre".

Actually, the new Cinemark at Woodland wall has a pretty cool looking old style Marquee (of course the rest of the building is just a big cinder block box).

Joe

The marquee was a relic of the old Majestic Theater, the predecessor to the Civic. This was THE first-run movie house in GR until the late 1960s. I recall seeing many films there. At one time, there were four movie houses in downtown, the Majestic, the Savoy (on Market Street, but long gone) the Midtown, and a fourth (I think called the RKO, which was torn down in the early 1960s during the construction of Vandenberg Center). The third theater, the Midtown, occupied a grand old legitimate theater that had its premier as the site of the reunion of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland. Present was General Phil Sheridan and during this reunion (conducted in 1885), the civil war statue at the corner of Division and Fulton was dedicated.
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Nice! Thanks dbrok! I think it will be cool to have that glass enclosure on the North side.

Especially since, with the exception of the arches, the front of the Civic is actually quite bland. Did the building lose a grand entrance and marqee at some point in its history?

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As I recall, this will be one of the entrences. The other will also stay. The current lobby will be much longer.

As for the neon marquee that came down. It is staying down. It leaked too much, and too costly to replace/repair.

The LED marquee will stay, plus there will be a "blade" marquee at the corner.

The house will be closed for the summer for a complete interior renovation.

GRCT is one of the best community theaters in the nation, and is widely respected throughout the theater world.

EDIT: oh yeah, much of the interior of the GRCT is already renovated, including new dressing rooms and a new dance studio!

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isn't it not good to have hundreds of people walking into a construction zone? a cool idea, but OSHA probably would've been all like, "nuh-uh." And everyone involved would've been like "aaaww c'MON!" and stuff.

Gotta repeat props to Fred Meijer for making this happen. It's amazing how something as simple as not being able to get to his seat can motivate someone. I really love that man. Almost makes me cry.

I said almost.

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isn't it not good to have hundreds of people walking into a construction zone? a cool idea, but OSHA probably would've been all like, "nuh-uh." And everyone involved would've been like "aaaww c'MON!" and stuff.

Gotta repeat props to Fred Meijer for making this happen. It's amazing how something as simple as not being able to get to his seat can motivate someone. I really love that man. Almost makes me cry.

I said almost.

I thought most of the construction was done on the interior already? I guess not :P

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