Egyptian theatre undergoes another historic restoration
Coos Bay- A thick layer of dust lines the Egyptian theatre this week,as the upper walls of the balcony theatres are brought down to restore the Egyptian to its 1925 look.
Shutter Creek work crews helped with the manual labor on Tuesday, tearing down dry wall and wood beams.
Even Egyptian Preservation board members geared up with hard hats to rip out the theatre's side wings.
They're working to restore the Egyptian to it's original condition.
President of the Egyptian Preservation Society David Engholm says, "Our vision is to bring it back to it's 1925 look, with the whole balcony. This is supposed to be one theatre. They broke it up into a triplex back in May of 1976 and it was due to the economics of the time."
The upper theatres haven't been used for years, so opening up the balcony makes sense both financially and esthetically.
Engholm says, "Where's your nostalgia or charm? This is a historical theatre, if you want to keep it historical, you don't want these added additions that hang out over the theatre. They take away from the beauty of the theatre."
Just because the Egyptian is under construction doesn't mean its closed.
Workers will be on-site during the week and the theatre will open to the public on weekends for live shows and movies.
They're hoping to complete the balcony restoration by April.
Shutter Creek work crews helped with the manual labor on Tuesday, tearing down dry wall and wood beams.
Even Egyptian Preservation board members geared up with hard hats to rip out the theatre's side wings.
They're working to restore the Egyptian to it's original condition.
President of the Egyptian Preservation Society David Engholm says, "Our vision is to bring it back to it's 1925 look, with the whole balcony. This is supposed to be one theatre. They broke it up into a triplex back in May of 1976 and it was due to the economics of the time."
The upper theatres haven't been used for years, so opening up the balcony makes sense both financially and esthetically.
Engholm says, "Where's your nostalgia or charm? This is a historical theatre, if you want to keep it historical, you don't want these added additions that hang out over the theatre. They take away from the beauty of the theatre."
Just because the Egyptian is under construction doesn't mean its closed.
Workers will be on-site during the week and the theatre will open to the public on weekends for live shows and movies.
They're hoping to complete the balcony restoration by April.
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