$51 million project expected to be finished next spring
Shuttered since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans' iconic Saenger Theatre is on display this morning to members of the news media. City officials and members of the team redeveloping the 1927 venue at the edge of the French Quarter are offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse of construction crews' efforts to dismantle the existing stagehouse and install steel bracing structures on the two original sidewalls.
Until Thursday's behind-the-scenes tour of renovations at New Orleans' iconic Saenger Theatre, news cameras last got a glimpse at the project in July.
The bracing will remain in place as the facility is restored to its original grandeur. The $51 million project is expected to be completed by May 2013.
The Saenger restoration won't just wipe away the ravages of a flood that swamped underground infrastructure and orchestra-level seats and trashed the sprawling Canal Street building's ornate Florentine interiors.
Instead, the plan calls for the theater to be reborn to more closely reflect the way it looked when it opened as a playhouse, before it morphed into the city's pre-eminent movie palace.
Developers want the Saenger to function as a multipurpose venue, featuring an expanded stagehouse that will allow for larger productions, including Broadway and dance shows, music performances, film presentations, corporate assemblies, lectures and community events.