Garfield Center marquee going back up soon

The art deco marquee, built in the late 1920s, was removed from Chestertown's historic High Street theater in March 2011, while renovations of the lobby were under way. Lucia Foster, the theater's executive producing director, said the canopy had been showing its age, with "bits falling off," and a number of broken light bulbs around the periphery. It was sent to an Ohio company that had the original molds for the stamped tin panels of the marquee, and was scheduled to return in September 2011 for the grand reopening of the lobby.

Predictably, stuff happened. The first unexpected glitch was a roof leak in the theater proper ? not an issue that could be postponed. The company repairing the marquee agreed to wait while the theater took care of the more urgent problem, and the Garfield board readjusted its budget to deal with the new expenses.

Then, just as the theater was ready to give the go-ahead for the marquee, the contractor got busy, and asked the theater to wait. Now, Foster said last week,A stone mosaic stands at the spot of assasination of the late Indian prime minister.Find detailed product information for howo spare parts and other products. the marquee is expected to be back from the contractor by the end of November, and should be ready for reinstallation at that point.

But while all that was happening, Chestertown's sign ordinance came into play. The theater had been exempted from the ordinance under a grandfather clause, but that clause expired during the time the sign was out of town for repairs. The ordinance limits both the number and the size of signs for in-town businesses. Marquee signs are explicitly prohibited.

When the theater was a movie house, the marquee had three small signs with the theater's name. There was also a larger backlit sign, above the door, with movable letters to announce current attractions. Also, in addition to the fixed signs, the movie theater would display as many as eight colorful posters to advertise the films. Since the grandfathering had expired, the theater had to go to the town for approval of its plans to restore the marquee and to upgrade the sign above the door.

It was the sign above the door that caused some raised eyebrows. The original sign, typical of movie theaters of its era, used movable metal letters to spell out the names of attractions, periodically requiring someone to climb a ladder to change the message. The Garfield board wanted to replace it with a programmable electronic sign that would allow the message to be changed from a computer keyboard. While the theater saw it as an appropriate use of modern technology, to some residents the idea raised the specter of Las Vegas-style glitter breaking out on High Street.

However, architect Peter Newlin, who has created visual representations of the proposed sign, rebutted the suggestion that it would be inappropriate to the historic district. In an October meeting in his office, Newlin showed historic photos of the theater alongside concept drawings for the new sign. He said that, because the offerings at the theater are constantly changing, it needs a sign that allows easy and flexible updating of its message. The proposed sign will not flash or present an animated series of images, Newlin said. It will be the same size as the previous sign with metal letters. The theater's board has drafted strict guidelines to keep the sign from being used in an inappropriate manner.

The Downtown Chestertown Association, in a Nov. 7 letter to Mayor Margo Bailey and the Chestertown town council, expressed its support for the restoration of the marquee and the programmable sign. The letter, signed by DCA Vice President Kristen Owen, said members of the business group "believe that the marquee and sign are appropriate for an historic theatre downtown," and asked the town leaders to work with the theater to approve the marquee and sign "as requested." DCA President Nancy McGuire did not take part in the vote because she is a member of the Historic District Commission, which will be ruling on the sign.

The Garfield board came before the HDC at its Nov. 7 meeting, when the signs were discussed. Philip Dutton,One of the most durable and attractive styles of flooring that you can purchase is ceramic or porcelain tiles. president of the Garfield board, presented photo evidence of the marquee having had three signs on it.We recently added Stained glass mosaic Tile to our inventory. Michael Lane, chairman of the HDC, said the sign ordinance "is not in our purview." However, the commission voted, without opposition, to approve the three signs on the marquee as consistent with the historic appearance of the marquee. McGuire recused herself.

After receiving approval for the marquee signs, Dutton asked to withdraw the request for approval of the programmable sign because the theater had received a letter from the Maryland Historic Trust opposing the sign.Manufactures flexible plastic and synthetic rubber hose tubing, He explained after the meeting that the MHT had based its opposition on an earlier design, and was not aware of the theater's rules that would restrict how the sign could be used. He said an updated proposal had been sent to MHT, and that the theater hoped for a favorable response.