Pittsfield Looking to Restore Capitol Marquee
The historic marquee that hangs out over North Street's south sidewalk will need to be completely rebuilt.
Barry Architects did an assessment of the structure and determined there are significant repairs needed. President John Barry submitted a cost estimate for the City Council's Building and Maintenance Subcommittee to review on Monday that calls for basically demolishing it and then rebuilding.
"It is in sad shape and needs extensive restoration," Barry wrote. "I would estimate the cost to restore of replicate items on the marquee to bring it back to its original condition would be $142,030."
The largest costs would be to install new metal for the structure and rewire it. Director of Building Maintenance Brian Filiault says the majority of the issues are with the steel structure itself, so much that it is in danger of falling down.
"A lot of this deterioration happened quite a while ago. I don't think it was ever recognized," he said.
Filiault said nobody had noticed it until rust spots became visible and by then, it was too late. Water is getting into the structure and rotting out the support beams, he said.
"There have been repairs done to it but I think it was too little too late," he said.
Filiault will be asking Mayor Linda Tyer to include a capital request to fund the restoration work. The building was built in 1898 as the New Mills Block, later becoming the Capitol Theatre. According to the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the marquee is a 1922 art deco. The theater closed in the 1980s and the building was turned into the Ralph Froio Senior Center.
"We've put a lot of work into that, every time we have Callahan Sign come over it is a couple thousand dollars of work and it doesn't seem to be doing any good." Council on Aging Director Vincent Marinaro said. "It is more than cosmetic, it is safety."
For city councilors, the appeal to restore it is both for aesthetics and safety.
"I think we are at the point where something has to be done for safety as well as cosmetic," Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Simonelli, who submitted the petition asking for the cost estimates, said. "It is a nice thing for the city of Pittsfield. North Street looks really good and we don't want a crumbling structure."
The building does have a historic restriction on it so repairs will have to be approved by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Director of Community Development Bonnie Galant says that part will likely take the longest.
"I am going to start the process dealing with Mass Historical Commission soon so we can iron out the description of work," she said.
As long as the funding is approved, Galant will put together a bid to go out in the next fiscal year, sign a contractor, and get the demolition and construction going. If all goes well, the work can start in the fall.
"That is a tight time frame and something always seems to come up," she said.
When it is done, Filiault is calling for an ongoing maintenance plan so that the structure doesn't fall into such disrepair again. He said if properly maintained, the new structure will last a long time.
All of the councilors on the subcommittee supported the project and sent a recommendation to the mayor that it be included in the capital plan. The idea of completely removing it wasn't something the councilors wanted to entertain.
"The marquee means so much to so many people," Ward 5 Councilor Donna Todd Rivers said. "It is a symbol of our community and it is much more than a cosmetic repair at this point, it is safety. I believe it needs to be done."
With a difficult budget season looming, Ward 4 Councilor Christopher Connell questioned if there could be community support for the project, like a "save the marquee" campaign. Local businesses have supported projects in the city such as a new playground at Durant Park and the contract for the ShotSpotter and Connell wondered if there would be that level of support for the marquee.
Tags: historic structure, marquee, North Street,
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