Muse Watson and Bill Landry Tell the Truth About the Princess Project

Thursday evening, a small group of Knox Heritage and Oliver Springs Historical Society folks met in the future “Channel 15” studio, which is the building to the left of the Princess on Roane Street.  The lighting and the air has yet to be installed, but it was pleasant enough with cold drinks, and fruit and cookies to eat.  The group came to hear more about “the dream” that Muse Watson and Gary Baker have held for over 10 years.

Muse and Bill Landry gave inspiring descriptions of how “the dream” came about, and what the TV studio and the Princess Theater would mean to our area.  I’ve been on board for a couple of years now, but I don’t think I have ever been as excited as those talks have made me! 

Other speakers were Ethiel Garlington, Director of Preservation Field Services for the Knox Heritage organization, and Frank Sparkman, of Sparkman & Associates.

Rather than trying to separate the main points by speaker, let me try and relate the jest of the inspiring speeches.

Muse and Gary had the idea of buying the Princess about the same time, however, in the beginning they were competitors.  Muse heard that a “Harriman Business Man” was also interested in buying the Princess.  Muse just knew that this “business man” was going to buy it first and “put in a parking lot”!  So Muse calls Gary and they realize they have the same dream, a dream to preserve the Princess and create a place that children could come and learn about “the arts”.  Not only could they learn about the arts, but come away with an educated experience that would serve them in careers in the arts.  After talking it over several times, they decided to join forces, and together they bought the Princess.  Later it was turned over to the City of Harriman, and is now awaiting to be turned over to Roane State Community College.

However, had it not been for Carmike Theaters allowing Cecil Johnson to lease the theater after they closed operations here, the Princess might have been lost to us today.  Some “business man” could have bought it long before Muse and Gary became interested and changed it into something that could never be restored to its movie house roots.

This is just one of the events that make some of us think that “the dream” was pre-destined.  That and things like certain volunteers coming to offer their expertise at just the right time, make us think a higher power is guiding the development of the dream.

The Princess Theater will be home to classic movies, reunions, gospel concerts, country and blue grass music shows and festivals, and stage productions.  Since Roane State will have two theatre stages, more plays will give more students experience in lighting, prop building, sound engineering, TV and video camera and editing equipment, and, of course, the art of acting.  Remember too, that whatever happens on the Princess stage can be broadcast out on Comcast’s broadband network to numerous counties in East Tennessee, or even picked up from the fiber and uplinked to satellites that could take productions nationwide! 

The Channel 15 studio itself will have the latest in sound engineering and recording, video/sound editing, switching, CGI set generation, and video cameras.  It is conceivable that locally produced television programs could be uplinked to buyers like National Geographic, Discovery, and others.  This is exactly how shows like “Dirtiest Jobs”, “Pickers”, “Pawn Shop”, etc. get produced and sold to cable channels.  They originate in small studios by someone locally who also has a dream!  So, if we have a dreamer here, maybe you, then the connectivity that Channel 15 has through Comcast is waiting for them/you!

Roane State Community College will come to perpetually preserve our dream.  Once the restoration and the television facility or complete, ownership will be transferred to RSCC.  Through their educational funding, they will be able to add the new facilities to there funding care.  This will mean that the floors will be swept, the lights will burn, the water will run, and the heat and air will run.  The benefit to our children is that can come to Roane State and prepare themselves for the future by taking “Mass Communications” courses.  These credits will be transferable to other four-year institutions.  However, our students will have the added experience of actual hands-on television and theater productions work.

If you will double-click on the floor plan drawing photos, you can get a good idea of what the Princess layout will be upon completion.  These plans are not the final floor plans, but you can see generally what will happen during the restoration.  Originally the Princess boasted seating for 900, but with the enlargement of the stage area (which can be rolled back for dancing), and the fact that modern seating is larger today to accommodate our American appetites!  There are also codes that have to be met that didn’t exist originally.

You will note a “green” area, generally the lobby areas.  This is what the TDOT “Trailhead” money, ($300K) is funding.  The TVA funding ($1.7M) will restore the areas in blue and orange (or yellow).  Half of the area on the right side of the first floor plan is to be built onto the side of the existing Princess building.  This area is to provide a prop building and storage area, and dressing rooms for stage productions.  The front half of the right side is the existing building on the right side of the Princess.  This area will be opened to make the lobby area larger, and to provide more restroom facilities.  Note…the elevator!  That’s good for old people like me!

By the way, you all need to put October 16th on your calendars and plan on attending the 2010 October Sky Fall Festival in Oliver Springs!  Check out their link HERE!

EVERY DAY IS ONE DAY CLOSER

I visited our Princess today and was amazed at how much the restoration crew has cleaned up since my last visit.  Yes, it’s still quite dirty inside, but at least the floor is now dry and you can even see some color through the dust.  I remember how the Princess looked back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, but if I understand the plans, the Princess will look even better than that period.

The roof, as I’ve posted, is on tight and there should be no more rain coming down inside.  The men were tapping chalk lines on the dry auditorium floor when I walked in today.  I don’t know what the line is for, but possibly it’s the line to which the stage will be extended.

I missed seeing them remove the old “silver screen” by a couple of hours, but now the old stage has been completely revealed.  I think the plans call for extending the old stage out quite a distance, so that there is adequate room for plays and stage shows.  I can hardly wait to see some theatrical or musical production on the new stage.  It’s almost too exciting for me to image…it’s like waiting for Christmas as a young boy!

Clearly, there is a lot of work yet to be done, but believe me, the first time I visited the interior of the Princess about 2 years ago, I would not have believed anything could be done to dress her up for company!  Now, seeing the floor dry, and some of the old color peeping through, it is more than promising!

Along the walls of the theater, either in the lobby, in the auditorium, or even up in the mezzanine level, you can see some of the many old colors the Princess wore in her day.  I don’t know which of these colors will be duplicated for the grand opening, but regardless she’s going to be beautiful!

Would it not be great to have a properly lighted digital photo of all the grand color schemes from all her eras?  I think that’s one reason I feel my documentation is so important.  You and I will take it all for granted, after a time, but someday someone will want to look back at the color scheme the Princess débuted in 2011!  The historical record we make over the course of this restoration will possibly be more important to future generations.  Such a record of the past would be invaluable to Frank Sparkman today.

So, we can see progress on our dream.  Every day is a day closer to our Princess’ 85^th birthday party!

RAIN DELAYS COMPLETION OF THE PRINCESS ROOF BUT OTHER WORK GOES ON

The new roof of the Princess is about another week from being completed. The recent rains have set the schedule back a few days, but the work done by Davis’ Brothers Roofing thus far is topnotch! The Princess should be “in the dry” in short order.

However, planning and discussions with other vendors continues, rain or shine. This week Frank Sparkman, Bill Milburn, and Bill Landry met with the proposed marquee manufacturer. Once the façade and marquee are completed, everyone driving by will able to see some tangible progress, and be reminded of the ongoing restoration work hidden inside the Princess.

While others meet to plan the future reconstruction outside, workmen inside were hard at stripping out “the old” to prepare the way for “the new”. In the attached photo, a workman works atop a ladder while Doug Mills, known for his “Heartland Series” work, films his efforts. Sparkman’s crews are used to being the center of attention wherever they are at work on bringing the past back to life! They know they are doing special work on a place very special to the local people. Once finished, we’ll owe them a great debt of gratitude.

Of course, I was hard at work shooting “stills” of Doug shooting digital video! Hey, someone has to do it…and, I’m so proud it’s me!

I walked up on Phil Gibbons, Sparkman’s “construction manager - field representative”, as he was pouring over the restoration blueprints by the light of his flashlight. However, the flashlight was resting in his lap by the time I snapped the photo!

Also on hand Wednesday, Bill Landry and Bill Radice discussed the Channel 15 studio. Radice recently moved to Oakdale, picking Oakdale by doing Google searches for “great places in which to retire”. Bill Radice is a retired sound engineer from New York, who is going to be an invaluable resource for speculating equipment for the TV studio.

Things are coming to gather folks and I think we’ll all be proud of the final result of the restoration efforts in Harriman. We have good people on board, but we need your continued support and ideas.

If you didn’t receive the recent “test” distribution email from us, please send your email address to us. Frank Sparkman, Chris Mason, and others will be sending out updates to keep you informed of progress, and of upcoming events and celebrations!

Just click HERE and say hello to us!

THIS IS OUR HOMETOWN

This past Saturday was the last "Crusin' In Harriman" for the summer. The event occurs every second Saturday beginning in April through the second Saturday in August each year. The City of Harriman makes no money on this event, but it does keep the spirit of the city alive by bringing folks together downtown!

While standing in front of the Princess Saturday, looking over the "Crusin'" event on Roane Street, (click to see my Flickr photos) I looked up and saw the yellow “caution tape” flapping in the breeze on the roof of the theater and a single open window over the marquee. It was a reminder of the new roof currently being placed on top, and the symbolism of the open window. Our Princess is about to emerge from her chrysalis!

Over the past two decades, the city has declined. It started with Wal-Mart and K-Mart moving into town, drawing customers from downtown, and the loss of jobs from the closing of the Kraft Mills, Mead Corporation, and the various hosiery companies like Burlington. Finally, in 2000 the Princess closed her doors, and began a slow moldy decay.

Downtown Harriman lost all but a handful of stores, and in the years following, other buildings began to follow in decay.

However, there is something new on the horizon that gives us, those who still care and remember, hope. That hope comes from a dream that started with Gary Baker and Muse Watson. The dream was that children of Roane and surrounding counties would have a place to learn about "the arts". The facility is to be called the “Princess Performing Arts, Education, and Conference Center", and is to be perpetually operated and funded through Roane State Community College.

The dream begins with the restoration of the old Princess Theater (the building) and ends with the move toward a Princess Theatre (the art). The dream is not to routinely show movies there as a major function of the restoration project. However, if some local resident creates their own movie then there would be a special premiere showing. There will probably be special occasion movies, i.e. "Thunder Road" during Crusin', or holiday movies ("White Christmas, A Christmas Story, or It's A Wonderful Life") to highlight the seasons. But, the real dream purpose for the Princess is to showcase "live entertainment" while providing a learning experience for local students.

The dream is to provide a center where Roane State and high school students can come and learn "hands-on" about careers in the arts. Planned is a local TV station (Channel 15), a live entertainment facility, utilizing the 900 seat auditorium of the Princess and the newly designed stage, and later a conferencing center will come online.

But, the point to remember is that students will run the total operation of the TV station, and have hands on experience when live entertainment is presented on the Princess stage. It may be a theatre production of the Roane State, or area high school, drama department, or a music concert presented by local groups. All the productions will be beamed live or taped from the TV station to multiple counties!

The best part, is that students will gain experience that will serve them in future careers in the arts, radio, TV, or the theatre.

From this, downtown Harriman will reap the benefits of foot traffic on the sidewalks once again. Apartments will constructed within the old classic buildings, and store fronts of antique, boutique, specialty food shops will open, bringing jobs and further restoration and spirit back to "our hometown"!

While the dream was all about "some day", it has moved into the "coming true" column with the windfall, which came at the expense of other’s dreams, to the Princess Foundation after the Tennessee Valley Authority awarded $1.7M to the city of Harriman, specifically for the restoration of the Princess.

People who lost their property and homes, after the devastating "coal ash spill" for the Kingston Fossil Fuel Pant near Kingston in 2008, were rightly upset over this grant, and the other education and restoration awards to Roane County. However, this blessing cannot be overlooked or refused. We must carry on with the dream regardless of what God, or fate, sends our way.

The only dreams left now are those of limitless possibilities for the community! Whatever we can imagine now has a stage waiting for us to produce it, show it, and enjoy it!

This is our collective dream. Beyond this it is still our HOMETOWN. Please, PLEASE, get involved and continuing dreaming. It is all up to us now...it may be our last opportunity to make it just like we remember it.

Let me also give you a heads-up. Property values Downtown Harriman will be going up once people begin to see investment opportunities gained from having more foot traffic downtown. Pat Mynatt told me Saturday, while I was cooling off from the heat, that she started her “Red Door Antiquities” shop now in order to get ahead of the rush! I think that was a wise decision...don’t you!?

OUR PRINCESS IS GETTING A NEW BONNET

I was there Monday morning when Davis Brothers’ Roofing made their first inspection of the work they have ahead of them on the Princess Theatre.  Rickey Davis (center below) walked the roof and gave his assessment to architect Frank Sparkman (left below).  It was the consensus opinion that the entire old covering will have to be replaced.  The roof has been leaking over the past 3 to 5 years, but amazingly enough the structural steel was not rusted.

Project Supervisor Bill Milburn (right below) described the Princess as being “built like a tank”!  The steel under the old roofing still held its bright original orange paint.  Bill talked about his amazement with the 30-inch wide main girder and 17” thick walls that show how structurally sound the Princess was and is.  It was all done to make the building as “fireproof” as possible in 1939.

If you remember the post “THE PRINCESS THEATRE – A TEMPLE OF THE ARTS“, a reporter noted that “Since this was after the second fire at the theater, the first one was in 1932; additional effort was put into advertising the building as “fire-proof”.

The builder even covered the roof in gypsum, hidden under 3 layers of felt and tar!

Cheaper “cello-tex” plaster could have been used in the walls and ceiling for around $350, however, the architects, and Crescent Amusement management, believed the $5500 for 3 coats of the Sabinite plaster’s acoustical and fire-proof properties was worth the extra cost.

After the 56 tons of steel was erected, workers began laying the 17” thick brick and cinder block walls, and pouring the first red “color pigment” concrete ever poured in Harriman.”

The new “bonnet” will take at least three weeks to complete, but it has to be done prior to any inside work.  Once the inside is in the dry, the “real work” of restoration can begin.

The Princess was not the only building in Harriman getting a new roof this week.  Workmen could be seen on both the Farnham and old Edwards buildings.  It seems a lot of people are into preserving Harriman’s Historic Buildings.

After the roof, you should be able to follow the reconstruction work on the façade of the Princess, and later the new marquee will be installed.  All the while, the Princess will be getting cleaned up and dressed up inside. 

If you are like me, you can hardly wait to see her all dressed out, looking like she’s supposed to…a real Princess!

THE PRINCESS RESTORATION PROJECT BEGINS IN EARNEST

That’s right, for all you “non-believers”, progress on the “Princess Performing Arts, Education, and Conference Center” has begun! This week the old seats will be removed from the theater and stored until the refurbishing company is ready for them. Next week, you will see the old roof being torn off and the new 20-year roof construction begin!

After the roof, the real restoration work can begin inside. However, you (the general public) will only see the seats coming out, the new roof going on, and later this year the façade and marquee reconstruction. The restored beauty of the Princess will be revealed at the grand-opening. A huge celebration (possibly 2 to 3 days long), complete with live entertainment, is planned when the facility is completed.

This celebration will be “YOUR” party and we hope you come join in the fun!

Until then, I will be posting pictures of the progress inside, and try to keep you informed about coming events. I’ve been assigned my hardhat and credentials which should allow me to be your eyes and hears on the project.

You will also notice that the old Acme Drug building (to the left of the Princess) has also been a beehive of activity of late. Channel 15 is another part of the Center that will be coming on line soon. It should make air long before the Princess auditorium, and give our kids at Roane State “hands-on” media experience. The Comcast broadband connection should give the Princess Performing Arts, Education, and Conference Center access to multiple East Tennessee counties, giving us a very wide audience!

So, keep your eyes on the Princess…she’ll be smiling at us again soon! The dream IS happening!

Please note, we are more than happy to share our experiences with other theatre restoration groups. Send us an email (princess.theater AT Yahoo) that includes your telephone number today!

SIGNS OF PROGRESS AT THE PRINCESS

That’s right; we are beginning to see positive signs of progress on the “Princess Performing Arts, Education, and Conference Center”! If you noticed this week, as you passed the “Princess Complex” area in Harriman, you should have noticed a “Wet Paint” sign in the doorway of the future home of Channel 15 in Roane County! Further inside, leaning against the right wall, you can always see a large florescent light burning. Both are sure signs of good things to come. Personally, I can’t pass there without looking for the light!

It won’t be long until men will be crawling all over the roof. Then you’ll know the restoration process has begun!

Keep your eyes on the Princess…she’ll be smiling back at us again soon!

UPON THE ROOF

I was wondering around the alley behind the Princess this week, thinking about the work that will soon begin. Upon this roof we should soon see men busily working on putting down a new 40-year roof. That will signal the start of the restoration work! However, the work inside cannot begin until a new roof is firmly in place.

Muse Watson and Gary Baker, among others, have been meeting with Frank Sparkman, and the finer points of the restoration blueprints have been worked out. A roofing contractor has been hired and the work should begin in short order.

On the TV station front, if you notice when you go through Harriman that the door to the future Channel 15 studio is frequently open and lights burn. Workmen are making progress on the inside of this facility. Bill Landry has been hard a work with those involved at Roane State on deciding what is needed and ordering equipment for the station. We are told that by next year Channel 15 will be connected to the new digital Comcast network. This connection will make our TV channel available far and wide (most importantly, Knoxville)…not just in Roane County. This is huge for the success of the station and the Princess Complex.

So, keep you eyes on the roof and watch for the work to begin.

To all those naysayers, you better get on board now ‘cause you’re about to see you were wrong! Besides, we’re going to need your help!

THE PRINCESS WILL BE PART OF AN ELITE GROUP OF RESTORED THEATERS

I've posted before about other restored theaters, and what we've learned from visiting them. Now we have discovered a success story that followed the pattern we hope will make the Princess Theater a center of entertainment for our area. It's the "Historic Liberty Theatre" in Eunice, Louisiana.

The Liberty Theatre has its beginnings way back in 1920 when local business men joined forces to erect the first brick theater in Eunice. Unfortunately, their plans fell on hard times, and the building stood as a shell until 1924 when new life was breathed into the dream of A. F. McGee. Sr. and J. Claude Keller.

The Liberty enjoyed great success over its entire existence, due, in part, to McGee and Keller's promotional expertise. That success remains to this day.

Eunice, under the direction of its’ Mayor, Curtis Joubert, purchased the theatre in 1986 and after restoration and renovation. Mayor Joubert created a program and made the theatre the home of the internationally acclaimed “Rendez-vous des Cajuns” Cajun Music Radio & TV Show. The first show was performed at the Liberty Theatre on July 11, 1987 with performances by Chuck Guillory, Papa Cairo and the Rhythm Boys, The Church Point Playboys and humorist Craig Soileau. Dr. Barry Ancelet was the Master of Ceremonies and has continued as the emcee for the Cajun Music Radio & TV Program every Saturday night at 6:00 PM since that first show on July 11, 1987.

The format of the show is based on the Louisiana Hayride, Prairie Home Companion series and the Grand Old Opry and features performances by bands and interviews by an emcee on the Cajun culture, origins of music and language. The first few rows of seats were removed to provide a dance floor in front of the original stage. It is truly, a unique and one-of-a-kind family experience. The “Rendez-vous des Cajuns” Cajun Music Radio & T.V. Show is held every Saturday night at the Liberty Theatre, starting at 6:00 pm and ending at 7:30 pm.

There are other events during the year, like the annual tributes to Hank Williams, Sr. every December/January, and the musical about his life once a year called "Lovesick Blues: An Evening with Hank Williams!" As you can see above, the house is packed!

We've been in contact with the Liberty Event Coordinator, Ginny Moody, and she has invited a group of us down to check out the theater, lessons learned, the town, and to eat some local Cajun food! She had me at Cajun food! Do I hear..."ROAD TRIP!"

It shouldn't be long now before you will notice workmen on the roof of the Princess. The roof is the first stage of the restoration and that will signal the start of the fruition of the dream!

The plan for the Princess Theater is to also host "live" shows in the main auditorium and they will be aired on Roane State managed and operated Channel 15 through Comcast, and out over their radio station. The hope is that we will have groups that will make the Princess their home base, with bookings of various other traveling groups.

Having an auditorium and an associated radio and TV station is quite unique for restored theaters. The Princess will join the elite ranks of those like the Liberty Theatre that does! What a wonderful thing that will be for all of us.

I was asked again just the other day, "When will the Princess start showing movies again?" The answer again is...she won't! She will be a stage play and music venue theater folks. Oh, there may occasionally be a locally produced and shot movie, but it will never be a commercial Hollywood movie theater again. Believe me...you'll be glad of that to!

Never again will you hear, "There's nothing to do in Roane County." There will be plenty to do and see!

If we (Gary, Chris, Dr. Ahler, and more) make the trip, I'll post photos of everything we see AND EAT!

"SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN"*

"What? What is going to happen?"

"Something wonderful."

*The character Dave Bowman, in the movie "2010", speaking to Dr. Heywood Floyd and telling him of "something wonderful" that's about to happen. Isn’t it the same with spring each year…something wonderful does happen!

That's kind of the way I felt last weekend. So many wonderful things were going on in and around Harriman, that I had a sense, and I think those around me had similar feelings, that "something wonderful" was about to happen. Something so unique and so good for us all that you could almost feel it in the air.

Spring seemed to break last week, and my wife and I enjoyed a part of the "Dogwood" trail in the Fountain City area. Everything was new, fresh, green, colorful, and alive! It made us feel new and alive too!

Back in Harriman Saturday we took in the "Cruisin' in Harriman" (2^nd Saturday each month), the first one of the 2010 season. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood and all the cars were freshly washed and waxed. People milled about Roane Street once again and passed hopefully under the Princess marquee. Like me, they wondered about what the future would bring – about the new spring season and about the Princess.

Having been to 2 or 3 "Cruisin's" previously, I was shocked to see that 90% of the cars present last Saturday were new to me. I had no idea there were that many classic and hot rod enthusiast in the area. Therefore, you cannot say "if you seen one, you've seen'em all!"! There will always be something new and unique to see.

Down at Roane State, Bill Landry finished his 3rd performance as Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird", and then celebrated his 60th birthday with his wife Becky, the cast, crew, and the audience. He too seemed excited about the good things happening around him, and about the kindness of Roane County folks to stick around after the play to wish him “Happy Birthday”!

What is it? What is going to happen? Well, I don't know officially, but I do know that the TVA money has been received, and that the contract with Frank Sparkman has been “gone over with a fine-toothed comb”. So, it could only mean that our Princess should soon be receiving a brand new spring bonnet, and then soon after she will be redressed in a brand new fresh dress. Her dress should resemble her original frock, but underneath it will be supported by the latest in modern fire protection and technology. She will once again be ready to entertain us with live shows and events!

No, she will not be ready by the previously promised fall 2010, but will probably be ready about three months later than first thought.

I don't know about you, but as long as I know spring is coming, and I can see its first hints, I can wait for it! Just knowing our Princess will actually be restored is enough for me...I know it will happen! I know something wonderful is about to come true!