Extra-Special Friday Update!

I was finally able to sneak up the ladder and get a good look at the emerging second floor of our new Main Street Theater! This is the space directly over the old Green Room. The crew has laid enough plywood that I could stand around and really get a feel for the wonderful new Classroom/Rehearsal Room and the Technical Booth.

(Above, looking northwest. The elevator is to the left, and there will be a staircase in the rear.)

(Above, from the north wall of the building looking south. The crew is pulling plywood up through the Classroom/Rehearsal Room stage opening.)

(Above, the view west from the Classroom/Rehearsal Room stage opening over to the
Technical Booth.)

(The view from the Technical Booth back towards the stage opening, which will allow our directors and set designers to build two-level sets if they wish.)

(The view looking north in the Technical Booth and, below, the view our stage managers will have straight down and to the right (south) towards the lobby.)

Finally, the crew is framing the new light lock which will serve as the "main entrance" into the auditorium. To the left of it will be the Concessions/Will-Call counter.

(Below, the view south as you exit the auditorium back into the lobby.)

Despite the very heavy and destructive rains Houston experienced earlier this week, the construction site is in good shape and work continues, albeit a bit behind schedule.

The crew has done a lot of work to frame the dressing rooms and actor restrooms.

In the dressing rooms and in the auditorium, plywood has been laid over the trusses...

(above, the auditorium facing northeast toward the dressing rooms)

(above, the auditorium facing northwest and below, facing southeast toward the lobby)

...which definitely makes it start to feel like a "real" building!

Finally, if you live in Houston and haven't cruised down Rice Boulevard lately, this is what the north (back) side of the building looks like right now from the Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot:

Quite a change from our former, more "low key" profile:

The work backstage continues as the crew works to secure the roof trusses and frame the elevator enclosure. They're also beginning to frame the east dressing room (see the door!) and will very quickly be building up to frame the second floor Classroom/Rehearsal Room.

This dressing room is in the lower right corner of the floorplan below:

Later this week, our solar panel installer, 512Solar, will be on site to install some clips in the Times Boulevard-facing second floor walls that will, in a few months, hold part of our array. After the clips are installed, water proofing and plaster work can commence on those walls.

Despite the stormy weather forecast, our intrepid crew is working and accepting a big shipment of roof trusses for the north side of the building, the all-new two-story part where the Patron Restrooms, Dressing Rooms, Classroom/Rehearsal Room and elevator will be located. The trusses come 12 to a bundle; the bundles are lowered by a crane and laid flat and then the crew stands them up and secures them into place, one by one.

Below, the view looking east:

The view, looking southeast:

Looking from the north side, in the Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot:

As soon as the trusses are in place, interior framing can continue on this section of the building. 

Finally, this shot looking north in the West Lobby shows the first bit of framing (on the left) for the new Front Stair that will lead from the Technical Booth area down to a new exit door on Times Boulevard. And, yes - we're "capturing" the under-the-stair space for a closet.

Stay tuned!

Framing continues!

This past week saw a lot of progress as the framing crew works on the north and west sections of the building. Below, in the West Lobby area, you can see the new roof and ceiling joists for the second-floor Technical Booth and the Stage Support Office as the workers make their way south.

Here is a view from atop that new floor:

The view the stage managers will have as they call a show:

From the second floor, you can really see the new backstage slab:

The crew has framed the west and east fire-rated walls that abut our "party walls":

And they're beginning to frame the new north wall:

Meanwhile, in the auditorium, the temporary bracing wall has been removed, and we can really see how big and open this space is going to be!

Coming up soon: the front "curved section" of the façade, which had to be demolished to add new steel structure to the building, will be framed and the two new exit doors will appear.

Finally, we're still fundraising to reach our $3.5 million goal, so please give what you can and tell your friends and work colleagues about the project. Every gift helps us get closer to finishing this special building!