January 26, 2009

Old Theater is Almost Ready for Its New Life

The new signs going up on the Mainstreet Theatre, formerly the Empire, mean it’s close to showtime at the 88-year-old former vaudeville palace at 14th Street and Baltimore Avenue.

A grand reopening date for the $25 million project -- it cost $1.25 million to build in 1921 -- is anticipated to open in the next few weeks.

Earlier this month, a section of Baltimore was closed to traffic while a crane hoisted a 14 1/2 ton latticework steel tower and attached it to the building facade. The heavyweight frame will bear a 60-foot “blade sign” emblazoned with the theater’s new moniker, AMC Mainstreet. When completed, the sign will rise 160 feet above street level.

Workers are installing a 64-foot wide, 4-foot tall, LED message center that will wrap the marquee perimeter and allow AMC Entertainment, the codeveloper of the six-screen digital movie complex, to display a variety of content.

On the upper corners of the building three big AMC signs have been installed.

Inside the 90,000-square-foot theater, the screens, speakers and seats have been installed in the six auditoriums, the terrazzo floor is being finished and carpeting is being laid.

Greg Scovitch, the project manager for the Cordish Co., said city inspectors should be able to begin their work next week.

Because the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the new signs had to be carefully planned to avoid jeopardizing the historic tax credits used to help finance the project.

Developers are required to follow strict guidelines to make the restoration historically accurate.

Cyd Milstein, the architectural historian who prepared the National Register application, said erecting the massive blade sign was not a problem because the theater had had one for most of its existence.

Renovating the marquee and hanging the AMC signs were a bit trickier.

The marquee had to be lowered a bit so as not to obstruct the windows in the tower beneath the dome. The signs had to be located where they wouldn’t cover the primary facade or other characteristic feature of the building, Milstein said.

AMC couldn’t be more pleased with how its major downtown investments have turned out.

The Kansas City-based entertainment company collaborated with Cordish on the Midland by AMC, which reopened in September, and the soon-to open Mainstreet Theatre.

“We’re really happy about reviving the Mainstreet and Midland,” said AMC spokesman Justin Scott. “We’re offering all kinds of entertainment options, not just for downtown residents, but all the visitors to the Power & Light District.”

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