Quoted Text

SCHENECTADY
Golden ceiling shines at Proctors
Dome expected to be finished by Sept. 15 gala; cost is $100K
BY KELLY DE LA ROCHA Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Kelly de la Rocha at 395-3040 or kdelarocha@dailygazette.net.

    The best seats in the house at Proctors on Monday were not front and center in the orchestra pit, but rather on top of the extensive scaffolding that’s been erected in the balcony. Once you hike to the highest seats in the house, then up a small stepladder to the rough sheets of plywood that serve as the scaffolding’s floor, the historic theater’s 60-foot-high domed ceiling is near enough to touch. Up close, it’s even more amazing than when viewed from the cushy wine-colored seats lined up below.
    Standing at eye level with the theater’s massive center chandelier, you can admire the depth and dimension of the part of the ceiling that hovers above the balcony — its gilded leaves and fl owers, its urns of fruit, its lengths of graceful filigree and its delicate plaster latticework.
    On Monday, painters patiently plugged away at the theater’s latest restoration project — repairing, regilding and repainting about onethird of the breathtaking ceiling.
    The job, which is supported by a $100,000 award Proctors received through Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Council initiative, is ahead of schedule and is expected to be completed well before the Sept. 15 gala that will launch the theater’s 2012-2013 season.
    The money that made the project possible came from the Environmental Protection Fund administered by New York State’s Offi ce of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
    Tom Alworth, the offi ce’s deputy commissioner, said Proctors is an ideal grant recipient.
    “It’s a critical resource for Schenectady, it’s historic. We want to make sure that it lasts forever,” he said.
    The ceiling renovation is one phase of an ongoing $849,000 restoration project. Improvements to come will include repairs to the theater’s walls, side boxes, scagliola, balcony, mezzanine and orchestra areas, as well as the men’s and women’s lounges and the Golub Arcade.
    The 2,700-seat theater was built in 1925 by Frederick Francis Proctor as a movie house and a vaudeville theater.
    The last time it was painted was over 75 years ago, estimated Proctors CEO Philip Morris.
    “We think this building was repainted by MGM in 1932 or 34. [MGM] took the building over after Proctor died, and since then, as a not-for-profit, it was never touched,” he said.
    Despite the fact that the elegant interior received no updating for years, it stayed fairly well preserved, Morris observed.
    “This place never became a disaster. The worst decorative repairs we had to do were along the top of that arch,” he said, pointing to a spot on the wall on the stageright side of the theater.
    Even though there’s no extensive damage to contend with, the renovation process is still a tedious one. Just erecting the scaffolding for the job that’s going on now took over a week.
    The ceiling is being carefully restored by EverGreene Architectural Arts of New York City. Five workers have been working for the past three and a half weeks, gilding, shellacking, patching plaster and painting. They plan to finish up on Thursday, said Terry Brackenbury, the company’s foreman. ...........................>>>>..................>>>>....................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01000&AppName=1

Meanwhile, are you all saving your $ for the upcoming tax bills?  They're gonna need new upholstery on their seats soon too.

Yep, just watch DV aka Glry post here how wonderful, it's the renaissance.

But the big cheerleader just CANNOT explain how good this gold ceiling is for the homeowners who are losing their homes in order to pay for the ceiling.

He can't explain how it's helping the tax base in the city.

Home owners are being charged financial penalties for bits of peeling outdoor house paint and can't afford to pay a couple thousand to have their homes painted because they are paying to fund gold for Philip Morris who REFUSES to pay his fair share in property and school taxes on his downtown palace, and of course he avoids paying full school taxes on his Schenectady house because he ILLEGALLY is getting a STAR exemption

what do you have to say about THAT, cheerleader?    Are you shaking your pom poms for the people who are losing their homes?

before PM goes on TV for an interview......why don't he clean himself up.....looks like  a jakey bum....just like the rest of the goons in the city....

The road to Proctors paved in gold meanwhile the rest of the City is rusted, bleeding and falling apart.

Apparently, the priorities of this City are banning smoking (it gets into the pit bulls eyes when they are chasing you) and painting a ceiling for all the hot air expelled from Morris as he laughs about all the money he gets to feather his nest with.

Screwed up grants, screwed up priorities and the City is $5 million+ in the hole. Can't kiss a boo boo away when it's a severed artery.

drug dealers and gang-bangers looooove gold ceilings....especially when the trick is being turned

When they write a book about the free fall of Schenectady a chapter will be named after the Proctors Ceilings of Gold

Quoted from TakingItBack

When they write a book about the free fall of Schenectady a chapter will be named after the Proctors Ceilings of Gold

very apt

I am glad to see that they are restoring this historic, internationally-acclaimed gem of a theater.  It is too bad that the city (under past GOP administrations)  did not have the foresight to save and restore the historic Union Station and other historical landmarks that instead were torn down and turned into parking lots.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I am glad to see that they are restoring this historic, internationally-acclaimed gem of a theater.  It is too bad that the city (under past GOP administrations)  did not have the foresight to save and restore the historic Union Station and other historical landmarks that instead were torn down and turned into parking lots.

folks were too busy shopping in the malls to go to a show....and it became unimportant...because for some reason
everyone came to the conclusion that all 'art/love' stopped in the 60's

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I am glad to see that they are restoring this historic, internationally-acclaimed gem of a theater.  It is too bad that the city (under past GOP administrations)  did not have the foresight to save and restore the historic Union Station and other historical landmarks that instead were torn down and turned into parking lots.

Like the IOOF.....

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I am glad to see that they are restoring this historic, internationally-acclaimed gem of a theater.  It is too bad that the city (under past GOP administrations)  did not have the foresight to save and restore the historic Union Station and other historical landmarks that instead were torn down and turned into parking lots.

But you will REFUSE to tell us HOW all this gold helps the tax base.

And tell us HOW this gold is helping the homeowners in the city.

Can you answer those two questions??????    EACH AND EVERY INTELLIGENT AND RATIONAL person would want to know how all the gold is helping the homeowners and the taxes

But you REFUSE to address those questions.   But then, you don't care because you don't pay the high taxes

Hey...........ask the folks in the dss line, while they are going thru the metal detector.....how those gold ceilings are working out for them? Ask them as well as the few working, overtaxed folks in the city how those gold ceiling are looking? Ask the dss folks what was the last proctors show they saw?

Probably could have done the work for $20,000 using gold spray paint.  No one would know the difference.  Either way its is all just Lipstick on a Pig.  Just like the majority of the other things done by Metroplex.

The last time it was painted was over 75 years ago, estimated Proctors CEO Philip Morris.

Phillip Morris doesnt even know the history of Proctors.  This is from their own website.  

Expansion and Reconstruction
Since its 1979 rebirth, Proctors has completed many projects worth millions. By 1983, new installations included carpeting throughout the theatre, a replica of the original house curtain, replicas of the 1926 marquees, and a backstage crossover. Proctors also acquired Goldie, the Mighty Wurlitzer organ, and installed a hydraulic lift for the organ and orchestra pit floor. The ladies’ lounge and powder room were redecorated in 1986, and in 1992 the entire roof was replaced. The ceiling dome and front half of the theatre were painstakingly restored in 1997, and the addition of air conditioning in 1999 allowed for year-round use.