Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1977 - 22

mediate area, to serve as the coordinating generalist and
direct liaison with the general contractor or construction
manager.
The committee began their search for architects in
the early Spring of 1973. By the following September,
twenty-six interested firms had been evaluated, interviewed and shown examples of their work to the Committee. The final selection of a team, as ratified by the
Board of Directors, was as follows:
Armstrong/Childs Associates Ltd.
Architects for theatre and stage.
Steven Baird, AlA; architect in
charge of historical restoration.
James R. Grieves, AlA; architect in
charge of the design team.
After confirmation, the architectural team met with
the Board to discuss a logical approach to the several
design stages involved in the overall reconstruction and
restoration of the pertinent parts of the structure. These
included a complete restoration of the building's Market
Street face. Dixon's original cast iron facade had undergone a number of changes in its long existence and the
Wilmington planners and Architect Baird - an expert in
cast iron restoration - desired to bring it back to an
exact replica of the original in so far as that was possible.
Subsequent - and no less substantive - changes were
planned for the auditorium and stage plus all of the supporting spaces needed for a variety of performance functions, and an updating of the rental spaces on the Market Street end of the structure. As a consequence, the
team's first task was to produce a set of measured drawings for all part$ of the building as it existed at that time,
the late fall of 1973. As they began their work, the
Masonic Hall Company discovered a set of drawings
for the original building in their vault. Though many
changes had been effected both inside and outside the
building, the old drawings - probably done in Dixon's
office in Baltimore - proved invaluable in making the
new drawings. The old drawings also solved a number
of riddles that many of the people involved with the
Grand has puzzled over. One such was the location of the
loading door located upstage left. This door's thresh hold
was seven feet above the sidewalk along King Street at
the rear of the building! A number of possible solutions
for loading in heavy units in the past were guessed at but
none ever seemed to make much sense. The original drawings showed that there had been two load-in doors, one
to the right and one to the left - the present one - of the
brick encased chimney which occupied a 3 foot by 6
foot area in the center of the back wall. Dixon's original
plan and King Street elevation show two staircases - parallel to the street - leading up to landings outside the two
doors. At some point in the past, the stage right door was
bricked up leaving only the left one for moving scenic
materials in and out. No one knows when the stairways
and the landings were removed.
Two philosoph ies were stated at the outset of the planning: first, the auditorium and exterior facade were to be
restored as closely to their original forms as building
codes, budget and audience comfort would allow. Second,
22

SPRING,1977

the theatre should take advantage of as much contemporary theatre technology as the budget and the desires
of the planners would permit. The restored plant was to
become a permanent home for the Delaware Symphony
and the Wilmington Opera Society. As a consequence, the
acoustic quality - which had always been of high quality - had to be maintained. Wilker and his staff also made
a strong case for a theatre that would have to handle a
large variety of attractions ranging from Community
College commencements to two or three night stands by
leading dance ensembles and musical groups of major
symphonic size. Because of the original design of the
building, a new stage house incorporating a high fly tower
was not possible. In his original plan, Dixon placed
Masonic lodge rooms on the th ird and fourth floors of
the Hall, directly above the stage.
In 1943, in order to strengthen the spans above the
original aud itorium ceiling and also provide duct space
for air-conditioning, large steel trusses seven feet high
were placed above the auditorium from the rear wall of
the house to the back wall of the stage. In the process,
the old ceiling with its graceful coved edges and the
original proscenium arch were obliterated. A flat plaster
ceiling was hung from the bottom of the trusses over both
the auditorium and the stage.
Armstrong/Childs Associates and architect Grieves
realized that to restore the house to its former shape
the steel truss work and false ceiling would have to go.
To solve the acoustical, rigging and lighting problems,
KMK Associates were retained as acoustical consultant
and Roger Morgan joined the team as theatre consultant.
Without a high stage house the restored theatre would
not be able to handle large amounts of flown scenery.
However, there was enough height for an orchestra enclosure and good basic masking. With the approbation of
the client, the architects then began the development of
a total plan.
It would retain the Victorian quality of the original
house complete with a frescoed ceiling and a deep proscenium arch containing two stage boxes on each side of
the stage. The seating plan would be similar to Dixon"s
original, but seats would be more comfortable with decent
spacing between rows. Naturally, Wilker and the Grand's
board wanted as many seats as possible but they did not
want them with bad sight lines.
The lobby areas would also be Victorian in character
but would include more square footage than had been
present in the first instance. The entrance lobby would
connect with a restaurant/bar in one of the Market Street
rental spaces and to a small art film theatre in a newly
created area at the basement level. The Balcony level
lobby would include a smoking lounge and bar. Concession booths, coatrooms and a small book stall would all
serve to augment the pleasing pre-performance and intermission areas for patrons.
Blended into the 19th century ambience of the house
would be all of the elements of a very contemporary
theatre. The orchestra pit and stage load-in lifts would
utilize fool-proof screw jack drives. The pit lift would
accept extra seating for increasing capacity when neither

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1977