The Ohio Theatre, which opened in 1921, is one of four historic theaters in Cleveland’s Playhouse Square, the largest renovated theater district in the U.S. A fire destroyed the Ohio in 1964, and its latest reconstruction rectifies some incompatible remodeling of the past to restore the theater’s lobby to its prior grandeur.
The restoration relied heavily on historic photos and drawings (archived at Columbia University) by the theater’s original designer, Thomas Lamb.
The project team created a coloration and design rendering of the lobby by overlaying a historic black-and-white image. Historic photos helped recreate the pattern of the original carpet, as well as three of the original 30x10-foot murals that mimicked the style of French baroque artist Nicolas Poussin. Photos were used to determine the original height of the balustrade, which needed to be raised and reconfigured to meet current code.
The centerpiece of the restoration is the lobby’s 150-foot-long ceiling. The Building Team went with a light-gauge ceiling system suspended from the roof structure. Attached to the bottom of the framing is a layer of continuous sheet metal blocking, to which large ornamental plater panels were screwed and glued.
The team, led by architect DLR Group | Westlake Reed Leskosky, used 2D drawings overlaid with clay, high-res images, and a small section of charred plaster cornice that survived the fire to reproduce the molds for the ceiling’s plaster ornamentation. HVAC diffusers and a new fire sprinkler system were integrated into the design.
The project team for owner/developer Playhouse Square had to work around elements that weren’t original to the lobby, like the house manager’s office and a staircase that leads to the Kennedy Cabaret Theatre. The restoration introduced new elements, too, such as a family/ADA-compliant restroom and new concession areas.
Project Summary
Gold Award Winner
Building Team: DLR Group | Westlake Reed Leskosky (submitting firm, architect, MEP, SE, IT/telecomms, lighting) The Coniglio Company (site manager) EverGreene Architectural Arts (owner consultant) Turner Construction Co. (CM).
Details: 7,500 sf. Construction cost: $6.3 million. Construction time: July 2015 to May 2016. Delivery method: CM.
See all of the 2017 Reconstruction Award winners here
Related Stories
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 11, 2016
Exclusive Chicago club re-emerges as a boutique hotel
Built in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition, the CAA was an exclusive social club founded by leading figures in American sports and commerce.
Reconstruction Awards | Dec 1, 2015
Massive Chicago parking garage gets overdue waterproofing
Millennium Lakeside Garage, the largest underground parking facility in the U.S., hadn’t been waterproofed since the 1970s. The massive project took nearly 2½ years and 33,554 man-hours.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 30, 2015
Washington Monument restored after 2011 East Coast earthquake
This restoration and repair project, which was completed under budget and eight days early (despite several setbacks), involved re-pointing 2.5 miles of mortar joints, repairing 1,200 linear feet of cracks, and installing 150 sf of Dutchman repairs. Construction took place from November 2011 to May 2014.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 30, 2015
Denver's 107-year-old seminary campus modernized
The scope of the project included the seminary dorms, library, and chapel, all of which posed their own set of obstacles.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 24, 2015
Center of I.M. Pei-designed plaza part of Washington redevelopment
The L’Enfant Plaza, a three-story below-grade mall, was renovated to include a new glass atrium pavilion and a 40-foot-long, interactive LED.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 24, 2015
Manhattan's first freestanding emergency department a result of adaptive reuse
The Lenox Hill Healthplex, a restoration of the Curran O’Toole Building, has glass-block walls and a carefully preserved exterior.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 19, 2015
Nave restored at Yale’s Sterling Memorial Library
Turner Construction and Helpern Architects revived the 150-foot-long nave, which was embellished with stained glass windows by G. Owen Bonawit, stone carvings by René P. Chambellan, and decorative ironwork by Samuel Yellin.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 19, 2015
Infinite Chicago redevelopment bridges past to present
The renovation of three historic downtown buildings—the Gibbons and Steger Buildings and Pickwick Stables—includes a multi-level concrete walkway connection.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 18, 2015
Sun Theater serves the youth of St. Louis
Lawrence Group and property owner TLG Beaux Arts raised $11 million to restore the 26,000-sf theater into a modern performance venue.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 17, 2015
Smithsonian Institution’s Arts and Industries Building again an exposition and museum space
After removing decades’ worth of unfortunate additions to expose 17 historic interior spaces for the National Historic Landmark, the Building Team zoned in on the client’s key concern.
