May 15, 2008

DAVID L. SMITH PHOTOS

Wood veneer was used as a warm accent for the proscenium and acoustic reflector in Kingston’s Grand Theatre.

Kingston’s Grand Theatre gets a happy ending

PETER KENTER

correspondent

After a $17.1-million refurbishment, Kingston’s Grand Theatre is ready to receive audiences once again.

The top-to-bottom reconstruction is the latest chapter in the long history of a facility that has served as everything from a civic auditorium to a movie theatre. The original building was constructed in 1878, but destroyed by fire in 1898. The re-built theatre was slated for destruction in 1961 to make way for a parking lot, but saved by community efforts.

By the 1990s, however, the facility showed its age as tougher building codes and more elaborate productions strained the capabilities of the old building.

A new design by Toronto’s Diamond+Schmitt Architects and Kingston architects Shoalts and Zaback involved gutting the interior and replacing its faded Victorian underpinnings with a more classical design.

“Initially we hoped to close the theatre in May of 2005 and re-open six months later on a budget of about $6 million,” says David L. Smith, Supervisor, Theatre Operations, Culture and Recreation with the City of Kingston.

“We started construction in September of that year, breaking the construction contract into two tenders. The first part involved demolishing the interior so we could see if it held any surprises that we needed to incorporate into the second tender, to prevent extensive change orders.”

Construction crews did find surprises. When the stage was demolished to uncover the foundations of an old dressing room, it was discovered the mortar holding the foundations together had disintegrated. Tests also showed that the fill underneath the building was contaminated.

“It was a constant process of discovery,” says Smith. “Part of the first phase called for removal of the old plaster auditorium ceiling, which was applying over 30 tons (27 tonnes) of stress to the wooden roof trusses. Another surprise.

“The mortar holding the bricks together at the top of the wall was in about the same condition as the mortar in the foundation.”

The engineers on the project devised a way to remove the foundations a little more than a metre at a time, and rebuild them with concrete.

Contaminated soil was hauled off-site to an approved dump, while the tops of walls were re-built. Additional steel framing helped alleviate the roof load.

The project was placed on hiatus for six moths in April, 2006 for a financial audit and engineering review to help determine whether budgets could be controlled. The verdict: Little could have been done to alleviate costs and a new $17-million budget was approved.

About 40 per cent of the budget was funded by the city, with the rest raised by private donations, and grants from provincial and federal governments.

DAVID L. SMITH PHOTOS

A worker sets off some sparks at Kingston’s Grand Theatre.

ASCO Construction of Nepean won the tender for the construction phase of the project.

“We made no attempt to re-construct a Victorian theatre,” says Smith.

“The cost would have been prohibitive. Instead we went with a classic modern approach featuring a lot of wood and wood finishes. The proscenium arch, for example, is made of wood.”

Some of the artifacts uncovered during the demolition phase will be featured as accent pieces in the new design. “We discovered a number of angels and plaster faces that had been covered up in previous renovations,” says Smith. “We found a woman’s face —possibly a Greek goddess—and old plaster work encased in drywall. We removed some of these with the intention of bringing them back to a prominent location.”

The first production to be staged at the refurbished theatre as it opens in April?

Fittingly, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

Project team members on the $17.1 million project included Allen Mechancial, Bay Electric, Crossey Engineering Ltd., Holsgrove Truck & Excavation, Josselyn Engineering Ltd., Kingston Lath & Plaster Ltd., Limen Group Ltd., Pinnacle Roofing, Presland Iron & Steel, Sousa Ready-Mix, Roney Engineering Ltd. and MHPM Project Managers Inc.

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