PRINCESS COMPLEX EXTERIOR BEING PAINTED

Wow, wouldn't it be great if all of Harriman could be painted as pretty as Tim Plemons and crew are making the exterior of the Princess Complex?!  

I stopped by today and spoke to Tim, his crew was the only thing that was happening today. His crew has really done themselves proud on the interior and exterior painting.  It seems to me Superior Interiors has been on the job everyday.

Inside little has changed other than the addition of the sound board platform and handrails up to the stage.

PROGRESS REPORT FROM THE PRINCESS

It used to be that I'd have to wait a month to see real change in the progress at the Princess.  Now, if I don't go every few days, I can miss out on lots of little changes.  Things are really, happening at a fast pace now, and it won't be long before you will see a notice posted here for a grand event!

James Ryan and Adam (forgive me I forgot his last name), of Rocky Top Sign & Neon, are busy most days putting on the metal face of the marquee.  He begins this week finishing up the neon at his shop, and I plan on dropping by to capture a few great moments in neon for history.

I was under the misconception that the marquee was going to be a giant one-piece sign that a crane would have to hoist into place.  Not so!  The frame of the marquee is all wood, some having to be molded into a curved shape that goes up first.  It is then wrapped in black and white metal, which has a plastic shield on the outside to protect it from scratches during installation.  That will be peeled off once the sign is completed covered.

The metal will protect the wood from the weather and keep the marquee sturdy and shiny for years to come.  Over this will be the neon...more on that later.

Inside, Tim Plemons and crew are still painting the vast interior, which has included the auditorium floor.  Some time next week the burgundy seats donated by Regal Cinemas will be bolted into place.  It will then look like a theatre inside as well.  I'm not going to publish any more wide shots of the interior until after the grand opening.  We want it to be a total surprise to you when you walk into the auditorium for the first time!

However, I will post a close shot or two of the seats just to tease you!

The new bathroom additions are being completed, and the ladies will happy to know that there are six new stalls in the Princess, besides the original ones.  The men too will have new extra facilities to enjoy, and there will be drinking fountains conveniently located throughout the lobby area.

The elevator lift and loading platform are in place, awaiting the actual elevator compartment.  This will make seats in the balcony more convenient to everyone, including the handicapped.

Almost unnoticed under foot in the lobby is the work being done to restore the original terrazzo flooring to its original shine.  The breaks in the beautiful old flooring are being properly filled, ground, sanded, and buffed to bring it back to life, and give it at least another 70 years of life!  I can hardly wait to see this floor returned to even better luster than I remember from my time in the sixties.  

Put it all together and you have a reborn venue; perhaps a transformation from a mere theater to a grand theatre.  She will be ready again to receive the title she was once given by newspapers and newsreels as a "temple to the arts"!

"SUPERIOR" PAINTERS ENLISTED TO REPRODUCE PRINCESS PAST

Tim Plemons, Jaycen Roberts, Grey Mead, and Jerry Roberts (yes, they are related), of Superior Interiors were hired to reproduce the Princess' "Art Deco" color scheme.  I stopped their work Wednesday to take this quick photo.  I apologize to them for this photo being slightly blurry, but it is very difficult to get "auto focus" to work in the low light conditions of the Princess.  I'll try and get a better shot soon, and replace this one.  However, I wanted to get them and their work documented for history on the Princess blog as soon as possible.

Tim Plemons, Jaycen Roberts, Grey Mead, and Jerry Roberts

The team has been doing an outstanding job of recreating the original paint scheme.  They are constantly referring to Sparkman's engineering drawings, and looking at an old post card to match the colors and design as closely as possible.

"Art deco" may be strange to most people, especially those not old enough to remember the inside of the Princess Theater prior to the 70's, but what you will see on the ceiling, the walls, and the front of the balcony is what you would have seen if you walked into the Princess on or after the 1939 reopening of the theater after the devastating fire.  The Princess was intended, and will be, an "art deco" temple to the arts!

Our thanks to Tim Plemons and crew for their dedicated, and often hard, work.  It's not easy painting on your back, or balancing on one foot from a scaffolding brace!  Walking into the auditorium now makes people who are old enough to remember, like me, feel so good.  You can almost sense that the Princess is smiling herself!  She's coming back to life!

Outside, the marquee is now ready to support and light up the new marquee, which is expected within the next week or so.  You can see all the right curves on the fade of the support structures, which will match the shapes of the new banner.

No matter where you go within the Princess complex, you will see some type of working going on.  The process of cleaning up has began too.  The scaffolding should come down this Friday, so the last coat and touch-up paint should then finish up the auditorium.  Then, another milestone will begin, and that's the placement of the new seats!

This week the main air conditioning units were successfully tested, which may not seem that important on these cooler fall days, but next summer when you are being entertained inside the Princess, you'll be happy it all works!

Again, let me caution you not to ever take our Princess for granted again.  We didn't fully appreciate her until we no longer had her, so we need to remember that good things sometime slip from our grasp.  We need to work hard in supporting the activities there, and to treat her like she was our own home.

I'm thankful for having had the privilege of watching the Princess come to life on a daily basis.  The only drawback from this is almost bursting inside from the anticipation of seeing your face as you again walk into the Princess.  I can't wait for us to again enjoy being together at the Princess.  So, when you see me with my camera pointed at you...give me a big smile!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A COUPLE OF YEARS MAKE

Well, truthfully it hasn't been quite 2 years, but in November 2009 I took photos of the inside of the Princess before any restoration work began.  I wanted to document the project from beginning to end.

The old leaky roof was still in place and water poured in every time there was inclement weather.  Knowing this, made my heart ache whenever there was snow or rain for 9 months.  Everything below was wet, moldy, and rusting in place!  The new roof was constructed in August of 2010.

I shot this light fixture that day, and since there is no shiny new metal above it, I know the new roof was not yet in place.  Real restoration work didn't really begin until around July 2010 when the old seats were removed and hauled away.  They were in very sad shape; mold, rust, rot, and more rust was devouring them!

The new fixtures are going up, but they are not yet complete, because, if you look at the blog header (above) you can distinctly see that there is glass between the second and bottom tier, and also attached to the bottom of the last tier.

Against the new paint, being added by Tim Plemons, we can get a little glimpse of the finished product.  The restored 1939 fixtures hanging from a beautifully restored "art deco" painted ceiling will greet us at the grand opening.  It will bring to mind the days when the Princess still showed its true colors; from the ceiling to the floor.

Tim Plemons is following Frank Sparkman's architectural drawings in order to recreate the paint scheme as closely as possible.  All the colors, shapes, and measurements are recorded for him to follow.  Does that make it easy?  Think about it...he has to take a little rendition the draftsman created on paper, and make it span exactly on the huge Princess ceiling!  He does it all either crouching or laying on his back while doing it!

Tim taking a rare break.  It's rare to actually sit or stand doing this work.

Around the old fixture photo above, you can see a little of the original paint.  This was just one of the clues Sparkman had when he had to recreate the paint scheme and colors for the restoration.  Without this, and a couple of other clues, the work could have never matched the original intent of the original architect, Joe Holman, and Crescent management.

As my project work t-shirt says, "We're turning the lights on!"

THE PRINCESS IS PUTTING ON HER MAKEUP!

Wow folks!  I must admit that I had three great experiences today at the Princess: first, Tim Plemons is applying the original "art deco" paint scheme to the auditorium ceiling, second, I met Megan Anderson for the first time, and third I met Torry Martin! The first two thrills I will post here today, but I'm saving Torry Martin's visit until next time.  Suffice it to say, he may have some great plans for our Princess in the coming months!

But first, I was so surprised and elated today when I caught Tim Plemons (Superior Interior) laying on his back, like Michelangelo Buonarroti painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painting the Princess ceiling! Can you imagine the crick he has in his neck every evening after work?!

Colors as seen through iPhone.

Tim is following the "art deco" paint scheme as was shown in old color photos and descriptions of the original design. Plus, there is no mistaking what was found on the ceiling and walls during the restoration.  

Strict adherence to originally is required when registering historic buildings in the National Register of Historic Places, which will be the next logical step for the Princess Theatre.

Colors as seen through DSLR.

Some younger folks may not care much for the "art deco" scheme, but for me it couldn't be any more perfect.  First, it's the way it was meant to be, and second, it's what I remember as a kid growing up there on Saturdays!  

Outside those two reasons, I also want her listed in the "National Registry" so she can take her rightful place along side other great restorations from that era.

Art deco ‎ (ɑrt ˈdɛkoʊ), or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era.

I was also thrilled to meet Megan Anderson, the manager of the new Princess.  She is everything I had hoped for; young, energetic, excited and proud to be part of the Princess history, and wants to become an integral part of the community.  She talks excitedly about what the Princess can become and how much it will mean to us all.  She sees young people again coming to build their own memories and since of pride in the Princess, and therefore, in their local communities.

Megan plans on maintaining a full-time presence, in her office, at the Princess, answering questions, giving tours, and making calls to potential performance artists to keep something going at the Princess all the time.  She also thinks the stage at the Princess will pull in larger audiences for Roane State performances.  All these things will bring more people downtown, more students, more people seeking good wholesome entertainment, and ultimately more businesses catering to crowds that come to the theatre.

Hey, she's talking about our dream!  It only took her a few days to see the same vision and purpose others saw over 10 years ago.

So, if you see her standing out on the street, looking up at the Princess and dreaming futuristic dreams, stop and talk to her awhile.  Offer her your ideas, your help and support.  You'll love her too...she's already one of us!  

Want you join us!?