Staff Blog

–Posted on 04/19/10 –

The Grand Theatre once again has a stage and offers a great opportunity for the people of Douglas to get involved with the very significant progress taking place on the restoration of the the historical theatre which since its construction has been a cultural center for the community. The old wooden stage was rotted away and had to be removed.

On the 12th of April 30 yards of cement was poured followed by 23 yards on the 14th. This was after two other cement pours which provided the edgings and stairways for the stage area.

The stage for Grand is ten feet above the basement level. The base for the new stage is thick gauge metal capable of supporting the over two tons of re-bar and excess of a hundred tons of cement that make up the new stage.

The innovative idea of Bruce Endres, the Construction Coordinator and driving force for the current phase of the Grand restoration along with the approval of Lynn Kartchner, the retired City of Douglas Engineer and current Restoration Engineer of Record working for half his normal hourly rate, of using scaffolding to support the stage saved a great deal of time and money.

The original architect for Grand, Dennis Wilson of Tucson, budgeted $20, 000 for leasing of scaffolding for the current of the restoration in the federal grant which is paying for the work currently taking place. This would have leased the scaffolding for a maximum of six months.

Endres was able to locate a stucco firm in Tucson that was out of business. He was able to purchase on behalf of the Grand, a complete set of scaffolding with planking for $6,500. This is less than the cost of the planking alone. Larger sections of scaffolding were placed in inverted vees under the metal supporting the stage. This was done for the length and width of the stage. The base of scaffolding was held in place by two-by-fours anchored onto the concrete basement floor. Additional support was provided by lumber going basement floor to the metal stage support between the vees. Added support was provided by lashing all the scaffolding together where they intersected. This might be considered overkill in terms of engineering; however, it paid off handsomely when nothing moved.The new stage is capable of supporting an 18,000 pound boom lift which will be used when the new roof is built.

The scaffolding has been cleaned and painted and will be used for work on the proscenium, interior walls, exterior walls and the marque, and will be sold by the restoration project when the project is through, and quite possibly for more than was paid for the equipment.

Endres, Patrick Daley, Carlos Durazo and the crew of four inmates put in a lot of time and effort in making the new stage a success.

Plans for the sub-stage area include five bathrooms, seven dressing rooms and the Green Room. The performance area of the stage will be a resilient wood floor build on rubber sleepers in-filled with sand for sound management.

In keeping with the philosophy of the Grand in using local suppliers and contractors when possible, Maddux and sons supplied the concrete and it was pumped by Al’s Concrete and Grout Service, a Hereford area company that is one of only two firms offering this service in the county.