Shea's adds replicated 1926 pediment and vertical sign
TEXT (Beneath Photos)
Click on photos for larger size -- and additional information
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All of the terra cotta on the face of the building was cleaned, replaced or repaired and then sealed. |
Blade sign is 65 ft. tall, weighs 11,000 pounds, and has 1,100 LED light bulbs.. |
Original sign was removed around 1942 because of cost and safety concerns. |
26-foot-long replica of the "Wonder Theatre" sign |
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Original pediment, removed in 1933, was made of architectural terra cotta. Most of the historic terra cotta pediments were removed after Buffalo winter water damage. |
Pediment detail |
Pediment detail: Acanthus leaves and flower flank fleur-de-lis |
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Shea's Performing Arts Center is in the final stages of the restoration to the Shea's Main Street facade, which began in September 2003. Originally opened as an elaborate movie palace under the direction of Michael Shea, Shea's is one of the only Tiffany-designed theaters in the country.
In addition to the exterior restoration of the building, other improvements include new seats in the theater, completed last September, and the expansion of the stagehouse, a project completed in 1999, to allow large scale Broadway productions like The Lion King (coming to Shea's in February 2004) to perform.
Blade sign: The "Shea's Buffalo" vertical sign was put in place on August 9-120, 2004. on the front of the building on Main Street. Such blade signs were prominent on 1920- and 1930s-era movie palaces along Main Street.
The new blade sign was built by Total Identity, a Rochester company. The sign was erected in three pieces via a 70-foot crane in front of the Shea's marquee on Main Street in Buffalo's Theatre District.
Pediment: The new customized pediment, hand carved by sculptor Leo Lysy of Buffalo Plastering, was placed at the top of the building recently. This pediment is made of glass fiber reinforced concrete.
Text sources:
- Shea's Restoration Manager Doris Collins
- Mark Sommer, "Height of Theatrical Nostalgia," in The Buffalo News, August 16, 2004
