Courtyard Reroofing

The old roof tiles are removed from around the Donna Wolf Steigerwaldt Courtyard. They will be replaced with new ones, true to the historic style of the Opera House.

Drywalling

A team of three drywalls the ceiling of the second floor Lobby in record time.

The Private Client Group of National City Corporation

Thank you to The Private Client Group of National City Corporation for their generous support of the Building on the Vision campaign. For the full story click here.

Susan T. Danis, Sarasota Opera Executive Director, with Matt Bower and Scott Merritt of the Private Client Group of National City outside the Opera House.

Skylight Install, Part 5

Final adjustments are made on the positioning of the skylight.

The new skylight in place over the atrium!

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of the installation.

Skylight Install, Part 4

The construction crew swings the new skylight into place.

See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Come back for the final installment Tomorrow!

Excavating Under the Stage, Part 1

The construction crew begins excavating the back area of the orchestra pit, which will extend under the new stage.

Peter Hussell and Kristina Rogers

Renovation Coordinator Peter Hussell and Campaign Intern Kristina Rogers heading out on a tour of the theater.

Completion of Paint Stripping

The crew finishes stripping paint from the beautiful wood atrium columns, which are original to the 1926 theater.

Lobby Drywalling

Progress is made drywalling the new West Lobby, which used to be the Opera Cafe and will now house a ticket booth for performance nights. The main box office will remain in the Pavilion building next door.

Skylight Install, Part 3

The new skylight is lifted into place.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of the installation.

Orchestra Pit, Part 5

The construction crew works on installing the forms for the side wall of the orchestra pit.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of the orchestra pit construction.

Paint Stripping - Video

See this earlier post, for photos of the crew at work.

A worker uses a heat gun to remove paint from the wood columns in the atrium.

Orchestra Pit, Part 4

See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of the Orchestra Pit construction.

In these four photos, the front edge of the orchestra pit has been formed and the floor of the sub-pit, for the installation of a mechanical pit lift, is in place.

Skylight Install, Part 2

The atrium, ready for the new skylight. See Part 1 of the installation.

Orchestra Pit, Part 3

The construction crew finishes the rebar which will reinforce the orchestra pit wall.

The forms are added to the orchestra pit wall before the concrete is poured.

The concrete outer wall of the orchestra pit is left to cure.

Building on the Vision Donor Tour

Major donors to the Building on the Vision campaign take a tour of the Opera House with Renovation Coordinator Peter Hussell and Executive Director Susan Danis (center).

Come back tomorrow to see what they are all looking at!

Paint Stripping

The construction crew uses lifts to help them strip years of paint off the wood columns in the atrium.

View from the Balcony

The pit construction viewed from the left side of the balcony.

Ed Bavaria and Dick Donegan

Building on the Vision Campaign Co-Chair Ed Bavaria (left) on a tour of the theater with patron Dick Donegan.

Skylight Install, Part 1

The frame of the skylight is laid out in the courtyard.

The assembled skylight is attached to the crane for lifting to the roof.

Orchestra Pit, Part 2

Here is a sequence of photos showing the early parts of the orchestra pit construction.

Chemical grouting to stabilize the soil is completed at right.

The sub-pit for the pit lift machinery is prepared.

The rebar and forms for the pit walls are installed.

New Windows

The new windows, which meet modern construction codes for high winds, wait to be installed.

Betsy Bagby

Long time Sarasota Opera patron Betsy Bagby on a tour of the construction site.