Fox Theatre Institute to Restore Ritz Theatre

When people talk about Atlanta's Fabulous Fox Theatre, their conversations evoke a sense of history, preservation and grand community significance.  Today, the Fox Theatre Institute partners with other historic theatres to restore, educate and collaborate within their communities.  In effect, the Institute's outreach program focuses on sustaining, preserving and operating historic theatres to the highest level within the state of Georgia.
 
Currently, the Fox Theatre Institute is completing its successful restoration project for 2010: a partnership with the Ritz Theatre in Brunswick, Georgia.  Built in 1899, the Ritz Theatre was converted to an Art Deco movie palace in the 1920s.  The theatre fell into decline through the 1970s and underwent another transformation.  Not only was it modernized, but also altered out of necessity; the roof collapsed over the main theatre portion.  In 1989, the Ritz Theatre came under the management of the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association and has returned to a live performance space for the community.  Many repairs have been made to the building, including a new roof, sound improvements to the auditorium and the purchase of a large screen and projection system.
 
On its way to reclaiming its vibrancy, the Ritz Theatre set sights on restoring some of its most notable features: the 58 original windows.  Because of natural deterioration of the window's wood features since 1899 and given the proximity of the building to the Inter-coastal Water Way, the historic elements began to fail in rapid succession.  After an assessment of the windows in March 2009, concern arose regarding their stability.
 
In April 2009, the Fox Theatre Institute assisted the Ritz Theatre in streamlining the restoration process, securing funds and providing theatre-to-theatre mentoring.  Many cities allow their landmarks to fall completely into disrepair, but Brunswick is decidedly different.  Indeed, the Fox Theatre Institute found a like-minded partner in the southeastern Georgia city, and it worked to use the expertise acquired in the restoration of the Fox Theatre to bring a staunch sense of commitment to salvaging a community treasure. 
 
"One of Brunswick's most significant features is its investment to support its community," said Fox Theatre Institute Director of Restoration, Molly Fortune.  "And the Fox Theatre Institute matched the city's investment, figuratively and literally.  We are thrilled to partner with the Ritz Theatre and the good people of Brunswick."
 
Committed to preserving the Ritz Theatre's historic feel, the Institute offered $30,000 of its own money, an amount which the city of Brunswick quickly matched.  It is this eagerness that drives the Fox Theatre Institute to dig deep into its own pockets to support local communities, even in a harsh economic climate.
 
Overall, the window restoration project was rooted in life safety-and in not sacrificing important character-defining elements for convenience.  The Ritz Theatre had been bombarded with offers to replace its windows, but after performing a cost analysis and desired results assessment, the theatre and the Institute were even more firmly grounded in the mutual decision to embark upon a journey of restoration.  In fact, the lifetime costs to rehabilitate these windows were lower than the costs to completely replace them. 
 
In keeping with the Institute's goals to stimulate economic development and create jobs-and as part of its restoration and preservation methodology-skilled local craftsmen conducted the physical repair.  Touting years of experience with historic structures, James Taylor has worked on many historic homes and buildings within Brunswick.  Taylor Davis is a graduate student in Historic Preservation at the University of Georgia's College of Environment and Design, and he was recently selected to work on Jekyll Island's prestigious historic district, Millionaire's Village. 
 
"We wanted more than just contractors," said Fortune.  "We wanted local people who have worked with similar period buildings.  Also, Brunswick has unique weather-related challenges, and we needed people familiar with how certain materials react in certain conditions.  Both Taylor and Davis are true craftsmen and adopted a sensitive approach to each window."
 
In January 2010, the experts began working.  They created a ratings system to assess the condition of the windows and found the windows to have varying levels of danger and disrepair.  The process to restore each window followed the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and consisted of over 24 steps, including removing the window from it's casing, dismantling the window into individual components to repair the joints, removing and cleaning the glass, applying a wood epoxy to reinforce the rotten wood, restoring the window weights, sanding, re-assembly of the window and installing the glass with new wood stops.
 
Once the window restoration was complete, the Fox Theatre Institute turned its attention to the exterior of the Ritz Theatre.  Though originally unpainted, the building was painTEd White some 90 years ago during the Art Deco movement.  In the 1980s, the building was painted red to reference the original red brick exterior, making restoring the original brick impossible.  Since 111-year-old brick was extremely soft, and most likely fired on or near site, removing the layers of paint would have destroyed it.  Since the city of Brunswick wished to stay as close to the original look of the theatre as possible, and through an extensive analysis, the Institute selected a rich red that matches the look and feel of the historic 1899 brick.
 
Today, the Ritz Theatre-and the Brunswick community-looks forward to celebrating the revitalization of one of the city's favorite downtown buildings.  The Ritz Theatre continues to play a vital role in the economic stability of downtown Brunswick's Old Towne Historic District, and the Fox Theatre Institute supports the local theatre as an epicenter of development.
 
In fact, to enhance the Ritz Theatre's presence in the Brunswick community, the Fox Theatre Institute has undertaken various economic development initiatives.  In addition to employing local window renovators, the project employed local painters for the theatre's exterior work; in turn, these craftsmen used local materials from local vendors throughout the restoration.
 
Preservation aficionados, potential theatre-goers and enthusiasts of all sorts have come to Brunswick to monitor the progress of the project.  Likewise, the theatre will continue to be an economic driver for the community.  Echoing the principles of the Fox Theatre Institute, the Ritz Theatre knows that as long as historic theatres are put back into service, their downtowns will experience a direct positive impact as new and revitalized sources of revenue for the local economies.  Some of the ways through which Brunswick has-and will continue to-grow include an increase in new local restaurants for theatre patrons, an increase in the patronage of existing restaurants and stores, parking revenue from theatre patrons, extended retail hours and increased foot traffic and overall tourism.
 
Together, the Fox Theatre Institute and the Ritz Theatre have taken a bold stand on the debate between restoring and replacing elements in historic structures of all types.  This strong position to restore has led the organizations to unearth several long-forgotten stories and innovations, all of which might have been lost to history if not for the restoration.  The Ritz Theatre has a story to tell, and with the expert hands of the Fox Theatre Institute, this community pillar will live to tell even more stories over the next 100 years.
 
As a special holiday treat, guests can take in the sights and enjoy "A Christmas Carol," beginning December 10 at the Ritz Theatre in historic Brunswick and starring Mayor Bryan Thompson as Scrooge.
 
About the Fox Theatre Institute
The Fox Theatre Institute is the premier source for consultation about historic theater restoration, preservation and operations.  By referencing the experience and success of the Fabulous Fox Theatre, the Fox Theatre Institute provides guidance to other theatres in creating thriving and viable epicenters of entertainment, supporting local communities and revitalizing their downtown districts.
 
With the hope of educating theatres about techniques to successfully operate and maintain their historic structures, the broader goal is to inspire leaders, encourage involvement in the arts and positively impact the cultural landscape of Georgia.  Some of the services the Institute offers include educational workshops, theatre-to-theatre mentor programs, on-site project management and preservation and restoration expertise.
 
Through theatre restoration and education, The Fox Theatre Institute creates stronger communities.