Connect with us

Duarte Design, Alpha Architectural Sign Restore Saban Theatre Marquee

Structure a tribute to the Golden Age of Cinema.

Published

on

FOR 25 YEARS, my firm has built or refurbished marquees at historic movie theaters and building sites across the West Coast. Our first was Berkeley, CA’s Shattuck Theatre, which was new construction inside Berkeley’s historic Shattuck Hotel. Since then, most of our movie-theater work has revolved around renovations. Movie theaters shot up across the country in the 1920s and 1930s to meet the burgeoning demand for moviehouses to feature “talkies.”

During that era, theaters weren’t just a place to see feature-length movies: reels depicting the news of the world were shown to audiences, and numerous short films – almost nonexistent to U.S. moviegoers today – also entertained viewers. Crowds didn’t just come to theaters to watch a movie; they came for an experience. We’re proud to play a role in recreating a key facet of the Golden Age of Cinema.

This article outlines some details of our general design and production process, and focuses on a renovation project we completed for the Saban Theatre, formerly known as the Fox Wilshire Theatre.

KNOW YOUR HISTORY

The Fox Wilshire, which opened in 1930 in Beverly Hills, was an Art Deco showpiece that included residential, commercial and office space. Renowned architect S. Charles Lee, who would eventually design 400 theatres, crafted the concept. According to a theatre history published on www.laconservancy.org, the Fox Wilshire “featured strong geometric forms, stylized plant and animal motifs, and an accent on verticality. The theatre originally had a bold color scheme of silver, black and coral, with plush, pink carpets, to create a luxurious environment.”

The theater opened on September 19, 1930 with the premiere of Animal Crackers, a Marx Brothers film. The theater possesses a wide stage in front of the curtain, which made the theater well-suited for widescreen movies, such as Lawrence of Arabia and The Sound of Music.

In 1980, The Fox Wilshire was converted from a movie theater into a stage venue. The owners enlarged the lobby by repurposing space previously used for orchestra seating. And, large, wall-graphic stencils had been replaced by a more contemporary color scheme. In the 1950s, the original marquee was replaced with a trapezoid-shaped display to increase visibility to motorists.

Advertisement

Temple Shalom for the Arts, a Los Angeles synagogue that emphasizes music and the arts in its messages, purchased the building and began restoring it with the goal of returning it to its former grandeur. Synagogue leaders renamed it the Saban Theatre, and opened up the space for rental for concerts, movie shoots and special events to complement its religious-center activities.

The marquee had fallen into a haggard state of disrepair. Extreme fatigue plagued the metal cabinets, and the display faces had long ago been removed because of the old marquee’s instability. We also had to account for a revamp that integrated a vertical façade to the marquee.

RESPECT THE PROCESS

We begin our marquee-renovation process by reviewing any existing photographs, news articles and any related information that would help recount the theater’s history. Sometimes, a facility’s staff will have scrapbooks and galleries with such artifacts; other times, we’re searching libraries and websites. This step probably requires the least time investment of any project phase, but it’s essential to accurately telling the story of the site. In this case, we wanted to create an historically accurate design with the trapezoid shape. We looked at original sketches that Lee had made of the building, which were stored at the UCLA library.

After sketching designs by hand, we use Corel X5 and Adobe Illustrator, and we export our files to the fabricator as an .EPS or .AI files. For some 3-D details, or to build metal or plastic prototypes, we use AutoCAD.

For this project, we partnered with Alpha Architectural Signs (Sacramento, CA). The 10-year-old shop devotes approximately 60% of its work to movie marquees. Owner Jason Lane, project manager Aaron Gilliland and their crew prefer to concentrate on high-quality work rather than high-volume production. Their standards align with ours, and we’re happy to have them as a partner.

“We believe that we’ve provided a specialized process for clients who need to restore or recreate historic signage,” Gilliland said. “It’s time-consuming, because there are many approvals required and many variables. However, using an integrated, design/build process provides advantages because we’re able to stay flexible and minimize costly additions or rework.”

Advertisement

As you would expect with an historic property, the city’s planning and design departments required many reviews. The Beverly Hills Historical Commission also had a say in greenlighting colors, patterns, lightsources, shapes and even the level of energy savings versus the sign’s original illumination.

Lane explained, “When doing a site survey, we remove the sign and its support structure, and then review what can be saved and what must be replaced. We spend the time required to truly dig into the structure, understand the electrical and engineering principles from the sign’s era, and figure out how to adapt the sign to current engineering, electrical and fabrication standards. Dave Smith, one of our partners, has more than 40 years of sign experience, and has the knowledge to make solid decisions.”

Alpha constructed the entire structure from 0.125-in. aluminum. Not every engineer fully understands sign-structure requirements, but we’re fortunate to have developed relationships with qualified engineers who are invaluable contractors.

Fortunately, when demolishing the old sign’s remnants, we found a solid, cast-concrete pad, so it was vey easy to attach the new marquee without major engineering headaches. In our experience, it’s a 50-50 proposition that an existing structure will be salvageable. We don’t want to make customers pay for a new structure when it’s unnecessary. Often, we’ve found that workmanship in older buildings exceeds current requirements. We strive to build marquees that will last 100 or more years for several generations to appreciate.

We always use aluminum when constructing marquees; where we weld the structure or use another mechanical technique depends on the specific piece. We prefer aluminum because we can build a strong display with a fraction of the weight of steel. Our methods for attaching the marquee to the supporting wall depend on local building codes. An acceptable solution in San Francisco may be very different from what will pass inspection in Medford, OR, Lane says.

A FRESH FACE

Alpha painted the structure with several colors of Akzo Nobel acrylic-polyurethane paint. To provide a luminous sheen, silver and gold metallic coatings dominate. On some of its newer projects, the shop used PPG water-based paints because of their lower VOCs. However, Akzo Nobel is expected to introduce lower-VOC paints early in 2014.

Advertisement

To preserve the sign’s authentic, historic feel, we specified neon to illuminate the marquee. We incor-
porate noviol-gold, bromo-blue and other colors of Tecnolux neon tubing, which are powered by Allanson UL 2161-compliant electronic 12,000V /30mA transformers. We used GE Tetra white LEDs to provide backlighting for the marquee’s readerboard.

Multi-colored tubing illuminates the starburst at the cabinet’s base, and 11W incandescent bulbs (which, with a 13.75-amp draw, don’t consume much energy) emanate from the starburst’s inner points out to the base of the display board.

Working on a sign for one of Lee’s architectural masterpieces sets a very high bar. His early Baroque/Art Deco-style designs feature intricate plaster work and heavy sculptural elements. Any enhancement to such a magnificent edifice will be relatively subtle by comparison. The Saban Theatre is located in Beverly Hills’ “Gateway District”, so its presence in such a high-profile area required a vibrant calling card at its front door.

Admittedly, marquee work isn’t for everyone. There isn’t a high volume of such jobs; the review process from an array of local officials can be strenuous, and the clients have very strict standards and expect to be very involved throughout the process. But, even with these hurdles, movie-marquee design and fabrication has proven extremely rewarding. Historic movie theaters are regarded as architectural icons, and the opportunity to breathe new life into such prominent icons has proven quite fulfilling.

EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

  • Coating: Acrylic-polyurethane paint, from Akzo Nobel (Norcross, GA), (770) 662-8464 or www.signfinishes.com
  • LEDs/Lighting: Tetra Max white LEDs, from GE Lighting Solutions (East Cleveland, OH), (888) 694-3533 or www.gelightingsolutions.com; 11W, incandescent bulbs, from lighting-supply stores
  • Neon: Various colors of 15mm luminous tubing, from Tecnolux (The Bronx, NY), (718) 369-3900 or www.tecnolux.com; electronic transformer, from Allanson (Toronto), (800) 668-9162 or www.allanson.com
  • Software: Adobe Illustrator, from Adobe Corp. (San Jose, CA), www.adobe.com; Corel X5, from Corel Corp. (Ottawa, ON, Canada), www.corel.com; AutoCAD 3-D software, from Autodesk (San Rafael, CA), (415) 507-5000 or www.autodesk.com
  • Welder: MillerMatic MIG-welding equipment, from Miller Weldmaster (Navarre, OH), (330) 830-4561 or www.weldmaster.com
PHOTO GALLERY ( 8 IMAGES)

More About Fernando

Fernando is principal of Fernando Duarte Design (Sacramento, CA).

Founded in 1994, Fernando Duarte Design (Emeryville, CA) has designed architectural-sign and wayfinding programs throughout the Bay Area, San Francisco and other points across northern and central California. Eventually, their work migrated into Southern California, and then throughout the Pacific Coast. As his career developed, Duarte cultivated a desire to work on projects that “could withstand the test of time.” In particular, he developed an interest in the exotic, Art Deco movie theaters that were built in the 1920s and ‘30s.

“I sought a working legacy for us, while preserving an era where entertainment took visitors away from the everyday world,” Duarte said. “We found this in movie-marquee restoration. Many such theaters still serve as magnets to large gathering centers, and provide a great sense of community and support for the arts as well.”

Advertisement

Subscribe

Advertisement

Facebook

Advertisement

Most Popular