Arts & Culture Magazine - January/February 2008 - (Page 48) Arts & Culture MAgAzine \ BUILDER OF THE ARTS Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc. By Judy Pokras. Photos by Salvatore Brancifort. 2902 Hyde Park Street T o encourage more films to be made here, to boost the economy, Sarasota recently hosted a group of Hollywood film location scouts. One of the local businesses supporting the effort was Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc. “We’re very supportive of arts and culture,” says Warren G. Simonds, Ph.D., Smith’s director of client relations. “That may seem like a little bit of an odd situation, being a construction firm,” he continues. But it is not so odd, because Smith Construction is known for working on several of Sarasota’s arts and cultural structures and for the firm’s direct financial support of the cultural community. Some of their recent projects at the FSU John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art include The Historic Asolo Theater, Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center and The Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing. Their other arts and cultural related clients include the Sarasota Museum of Art, Mote Marine Laboratory, Ringling College of Art & Design, Maria Selby Botanical Gardens, and Sarasota Opera Association, among others. The name ‘Builder of the Arts’ is certainly appropriate; their branding trademark is “SmithBuilt” which represents the highest quality in construction and applies to all the projects they have completed. The firm is especially proud of the reconstruction of the Historic Asolo Theater. Ringling Museum’s first executive director, A. Everett “Chick” Austin Jr., bought the Asolo Theater pieces from a German antiquarian in 1947. It was reassembled in 1952 on the museum grounds as the Asolo Theater Company, where it helped establish Sarasota as a cultural center. This project involved removing the more than 200-yearold Asolo panels and ornamentation, restoring it and reinstalling into the new twenty-first century Ringling Visitors Pavilion. Willis Smith Construction was the construction manager involved in numbering the parts, recording them photographically, refurbishing and reassembling them inside a new building. The pieces, which were originally constructed in 1798 in a castle in Asolo, Italy, feature a portrait of the exiled Queen of Cyprus, Caterina Cornaro, who held court in Asolo from 1489 to 1509, as well as profiles of eight influential Italian authors and poets with extravagant ornamentation. The Historic Asolo Theater restoration “was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us,” says Willis Smith co-owner and Vice President F. John LaCivita, who supervised the complex project. The firm thoroughly enjoys such challenges. In fact, Willis Smith co-owner and President David E. Sessions says the Asolo project provided the experience and credibility that led to the firm being selected to do a $20 million renovation of the Sarasota Opera House, scheduled to be completed in early 2008. The Opera House project is designed to restore the original glory of the 1920s theater while creating a state-of-the-art opera venue for the twenty-first century. The orchestra pit, one of the most challenging parts of the construction, will be enlarged to accommodate an increased repertoire up to 75 musicians for large scaled works like Verdi’s Aida and Pucini’s Turandot. The pit, which descends approximately six feet below the water table, has water pumps and piping installed under the concrete pit to channel water away from the cavity. Backstage systems will be upgraded to provide technical and production staff with quieter, better and more efficient equipment. The original theater seats will be replaced with historically appropriate and more comfortable seating. The lobbies, restroom facilities and public amenities will be enlarged and enhanced. The interior of the auditorium will be carefully restored to include elements of its original beauty. One of the highlights of the Opera House is the new skylight. Previously covered up in the early 1980s, it will once again be revealed, showcasing an amazing view of the Sarasota skies. Another proud SmithBuilt project is the Tibbals Learning Center, which was an addition to the existing Circus Museum. This included nearly 31,000 square feet of top quality exhibit and display venues, all within a 48 : : arts and culture magazine
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