How to Update Marquees Without Losing The Charm
By Mara Conklin – Clarus Communications
Feature story – League of Historic American Theatres
In the early 1980s, there was a popular advertising campaign called “Is it real or is it Memorex?” that demonstrated the lifelike quality of Memorex videotape. The commercial showed a woman talking while the camera panned out to reveal that she was recorded on a videotape.
The commercial’s point—technology can make things very lifelike—is the same idea behind the movement to rescue historic American theaters. Owners want to preserve these bygone buildings so patrons can experience nostalgia, while also taking advantage of today’s technology to make them more efficient and easier to maintain in the future.
To paraphrase the slogan, there’s no greater compliment to how well this is done than for patrons to say, “Is it original, or is it new?”
The challenge that often arises is how much historic buildings can be updated with today’s technology before they lose their charm. This is especially true for marquees, which are so visible.
Two theaters in Indiana, The REES Theatre in Plymouth and The Embassy Theatre in Fort Wayne, both recently underwent complete renovations. The way they updated their marquees couldn’t have been more different, yet they both look authentic.
The REES
Since 1940, the REES Theatre has provided family entertainment for generations in Plymouth, Ind., about 25 miles south of South Bend. Once home to the first retail outlet of the now-defunct Montgomery Ward, Plymouth today is a manufacturing hub for Marshall County.
The Art Deco theater, built by Badgley Construction Company for a cost of $75,000, closed in 2009. Shortly thereafter, a capital campaign to revitalize the theater gained more than 900 donors. Today, The REES Theatre Project is part of the city’s revitalization efforts to create a downtown that promotes pedestrian activity and provides a destination for visitors. The renovated theater, now a multipurpose facility, is scheduled to reopen in 2022.
As part of the restoration, The REES marquee needed an upgrade. The V-shape, two-sided marquee includes the theater name in green neon letters atop red neon-surrounded reader boards. Despite being closed, volunteers continued to change the sign’s hanging letters to highlight events, promote nonprofit organizations, and thank community supporters.
The Indiana weather made this uncomfortable and treacherous. Snowy, icy conditions made the pavement slick, and the wind and heat made climbing the 10-foot ladder dangerous. For over four years, volunteers—all over the age of 70—swapped out messages several times a week.
Thankfully, various grants including a COVID-19 relief grant intended to help cities communicate during emergencies made it possible to upgrade the reader board portions of the marquee to digital signs that closely resembled the original reader board and hanging letters. Graycraft Signs, Warsaw, Ind., designed and installed the 3’x12’ 10mm digital signs that were manufactured by Watchfire Signs. Watchfire also worked with The REES to provide a background template to look like the old reader board panels.
“Going from traditional hung letters to a digital board really scared me,” said Randy Danielson, president of REES Theatre, Inc. and co-chair of the restoration committee. “However, we can put messages on the board and you’d never know it wasn’t old. The community loves it.”
The theater has the option of programming the marquee to look like an old-time reader board or use the digital signs to showcase sponsor logos and other messages. Best of all, the sign is easily and safely updated from any location using cloud-based software.
The cost to operate the marquee is practically nothing, since it is powered by solar arrays installed on the roof of the theater. What’s more, the marquee is networked with the other digital signs installed in neighboring counties as part of the Covid-19 grant. If there’s an emergency, all the signs can be programmed by one person to quickly communicate messages.
The Embassy Theatre
Unlike The REES, The Embassy Theatre in Fort Wayne, Ind., retrofitted its marquee to include a 5’x53’ high-resolution digital sign that wraps around the marquee and adds a modern flair to the Art Deco building.
Opening in 1928 as a movie palace and vaudeville house, The Embassy has hosted iconic stars including Perry Como, Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, and Doris Day.
The historic theater was rescued from the wrecking ball in 1972 and two decades later underwent a major renovation to bring it up to the modern standards required for national Broadway productions, concerts, cinema, and educational programming.
The digital marquee installed as part of the theater’s 75th Anniversary was in dire need of replacement. The marquee featured the theater name in red neon letters atop a low-resolution digital sign that required frequent repairs. Parts were becoming scarce, and one side no longer worked.
Getting the digital marquee up and running again was a priority during the pandemic so the theater would be able to advertise virtual events and promote COVID-19 messages of encouragement to the community. The Embassy sought donors to help fund the new marquee, and two patrons stepped forward to meet the need.
The Baldus Company of Fort Wayne, known for resurrecting the marquee sign at another local historic theater, The Clyde Theatre, was tapped to provide the new sign. The company specified 6mm digital displays from Watchfire Signs.
“Digital displays are a natural for historic marquees,” said Hugh Baldus, a partner at The Baldus Company. “Digital allows us to take something classic and modernize it in a way that is in keeping with the historic integrity of the sign.”
The new sign seamlessly unites historic and modern, showcasing videos of upcoming acts, high-resolution photos of the inside of the theater, and messages to support the community and the arts.
The best of both worlds
Historic theaters have many options when it comes to restoring marquees using digital technology. The flexibility enables theaters to easily retrofit old readerboards to mimic days-of-old, like The REES, or embrace the future using photography, video, and animated graphics, like The Embassy. Either approach allows theaters to maintain nostalgia and benefit from greater efficiency and ease of use.