Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2006 - 21

By 1996 a renewed effort to resurrect the Opera House
took shape following the election of Harvey Bernier, Jr. to the
office of mayor. During the campaign Bernier made the restoration of the Opera House a rallying cry for the community and
upon election he made good on his promise, believing that the
first step in the successful return of the venue would be placing the right individuals in key leadership positions (Bernier
2006). Chief among the volunteers assembled by the new
mayor was George Allen, named to be Chairman of the Opera
House Restoration Committee. Allen, a retired professional
engineer, had founded OASIS Alignment Services, which is in
the business of providing precision alignment of large web
production equipment, such as printing presses, as well as

THEATRE

DESIGN

TECHNOLOGY
F

2006

other rotating machinery. Following careful study of previous
engineering reports and firsthand exploration of the space,
Allen determined that restoration was indeed possible and he
turned to the employees of OASIS (which maintains corporate
offices in the Rochester area) for assistance. Due to considerable interest, however, a lottery was required to determine the
four employees to work on the project. (Volunteers of record
include Don Allen, Bruce Littlefield, Dan O'Reilly, and Jeff
Trueworthy.) Restoration efforts of the key mechanics included the general cleaning of parts, careful inspection for
wear or breakage, the repacking of bearings, and the proper
alignment of components, especially the essential line shaft.
Allen reports that none of the gears and major structural elements needed replacement; only new leather
drive belts. Also, the two-phase motor was rewired to meet applicable codes (Allen 2006).
Beyond this key volunteer work on the heart
of the system, professional contractors were responsible for various vital needs during the restoration which benefited both the Opera House and
the entire City Hall, including necessary roof repair, a fire sprinkler system, much needed HVAC
work, and asbestos removal. Additionally, a major
building enlargement was completed to expand
city council chambers on the ground level, which
in turn, provided much needed backstage support
areas on the upper levels (fig. 11).
One must not underestimate, however, the
very significant grassroots effort by the citizens of
Rochester to refurbish and redecorate the auditorium, including the duplication of the prominent
Victorian stenciling of yesteryear. Shown in figure
13 is a fragment of the original stenciling hidden
by construction during the 1940s, while figure 12
highlights carefully recreated stenciling. Changing
the color scheme of the auditorium from the
picket fence white and pale sky blue of a previous
redecoration, back to the original color scheme
of a light sienna, accented by shades of burgundy,
turquoise, forest green, and burnished gold occupied a small army of volunteers over a period of
months. Figure 14 reveals the details of the original proscenium arch, painstakingly recovered
from under at least four layers of paint. And at
times assistance came from unexpected sources.
According to George Allen, the noted youth touring group, "Up With People," not only were first
to perform in the Opera House during the active
restoration period, but the company began the repainting of the auditorium during their accompanying community day of service. In all, impressive
statistics were generated during the restoration:
eighteen months of effort, with over $300,000 in
donated cash and materials (above and beyond

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2006