Rockin' restoration: the Beacon Theatre gets $16m improvement

Real Estate Weekly, March 11, 2009 by John Majeski

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When event-goers stepped into the Beacon Theatre in the early 1900s, they were witness to an elaborate decor: murals, armament, medallions, intricate cornices, urns and statues.

"You were actually buying a ticket to a fantasy world," said Richard Metsky, a partner at the architectural and planning firm of Beyer Blinder Belle. "It was a real salad bowl of styles."

Yet years of wear-and-tear and countless layers of paint had buried the original beauty of the 2,800-seat performance space. Current operators MSG Entertainment, however recently unveiled a $16 million restoration of the landmarked building. MSG had committed to the improvements in 2006 when it took over as lease-holder under an agreement with owners, Beacon Broadway Company. The endeavor was led by Beyer Blinder Belle.

MSG's Marc Tarozzi explained the building's pre-restoration condition.

"Things were painted and duct-taped," he said. Many of the details ended up being essentially white-washed. "(They were) lost when you got a guy with a big fat brush."

Using painstaking research, including old photos and the chemical analysis of original paint schemes, workers were able to make the structure once again shine. "It was extremely important to us that it was a restoration; not a renovation," Tarozzi said. "Everything you can touch as an artist or fan has been redone."

That includes restrooms and back-of-house areas such as dressing rooms.

The Beacon Theatre opened in 1929 at 74th and Broadway and was designed by Chicago architect Walter Ahlschlager, who also designed the former Roxy Theater. The Beacon was originally designed for vaudeville and silent films that made Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel famous. Shortly after it opened however, Warner Brothers took over and remodeled the venue because of the growing popularity of talking pictures. Today, of course, the Beacon primarily hosts big-name rock acts.

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It was designated as a New York Landmark building in 1979.

The theater is characterized by a small, intimate entrance that leads to a grand rotunda and a "long-lost" mural that workers were able to re-create, officials said. Continuing inside, event-goers then enter another intimate space--characterized by dark and rich colors--before entering the main theater. This performance area includes statues of Greek women with weapons on either side of the stage, a multi-colored ceiling designed to look like a tent, a huge ceiling ornament, murals and other decorative detailing.

There are touches of Greek, Roman, Roccoco, Renaissance and, well, just about everything else.

"I don't think you can describe the style in this room," said Chris Cowan, project architect for Beyer Blinder Belle. "It's every possible style in this room."

After closing for the work, the Beacon Theatre reopened with two shows by artist Paul Simon last month.

Tarozzi said some feared a restoration would take away from the Beacon's "authentic" rock house feel. Turns out the original colors and vibe do not interfere at all, but are precisely what works in a rock venue.

"This only enhances the experience," Tarozzi said.