Imperial Theater renovations to keep a similar style
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Augusta’s historic Imperial Theater is undergoing its first major renovation in over 30 years, but the style is staying the same.
Painting and plaster repair is all part of phase one of the renovations to the theater.
Charles Scavullo, the Executive Director of the Imperial Theater, says it’s been a long time coming as they worked to raise the money.
“The major roadblock to being able to do anything significant is of course funding. And we’ve been able to collect money and get donations and grants over the past few years that have helped us to kick off this painting project,” said Scavullo.
The fresh paint is just a small part of the project.
“We have four or five more projects planned for the Master Plan, which totaled around $10 million,” said Scavullo.
Those projects include making the building more wheelchair accessible, reimagining the front of the theater, and fixing the HVAC system, just to name a few.
“We want people to be comfortable. We want them to enjoy their experience here. We want them to want to come back,” said Scavullo.
While it is in with the new, it is not exactly out with the old.
“This paint project and previous paint projects within the last five or six years, we relied heavily on the historic paint analysis,” said Scavullo. “We have a 105-year-old building that was built in the Art Deco style and so far, we’ve been able to maintain a lot of that aspect.”
The upgrades now will pave the way to help them keep filling the marquee and the seats.
“I think it’ll invigorate commerce, ourselves, and the community as we move forward,” said Scavullo. “I think that the work that we’re doing right now. And then the big projects that we have planned for the future will have a bigger effect, and more positive results going further.”
Scavullo anticipates it could take several years for the entire project to be finished.
The first phase, this paint project should be done by the end of July, and they are looking forward to hosting more shows starting in August.
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