Refurbished Lory Student Center Theater Reopens To Public; Major Renovation Under Way In Colorado State's Student Center
Wednesday, January 14, 1998
FORT COLLINS--The Lory Student Center theater at Colorado
State University officially reopens to the public this week
following an exhaustive effort to refurbish the building damaged
in the July 28 flood.
The theater, originally built in 1962, will host a
conference this weekend and will feature its first film series
since the flood, beginning with "Cool Hand Luke" on Jan. 23.
In the six months following the disaster, the prominent
venue for student activities on campus underwent a major
restoration, said Martha Blood, Lory Student Center director.
"The theater restoration represents a major accomplishment
in the overall renovation project for Lory Student Center," Blood
said. "The theater is an important part of the campus community,
so it feels really good to make it available once again to
students and staff."
Crews remodeled the Green Room and completely restored the
theater stage, where more than 14 feet of water accumulated
during the flood. Restoration experts also removed and dismantled
440 cast-iron seats, which were installed when the theater
opened. The chairs were reupholstered, repainted and restored to
original condition. The 220 balcony seats were unharmed during
the flood and did not need restoration, Blood said.
The theater also has new carpet and paint. Theater employees
expect a new stage curtain and Steinway piano to arrive next
month. Restoration of the theater's 1927 Wurlitzer pipe organ is
under way and should arrive on campus this semester. The
thousands of pipes that are part of the organ will undergo an
extensive cleaning before the organ is reinstalled, Blood said.
In addition to the theater, Colorado State's new bookstore
also reopened in the same space it previously occupied in the
student center this week. Meanwhile, recovery efforts continue in
the remaining 80,000 square feet in the student center's lower
level. In August, a committee composed of 22 students, faculty
and other university employees held public meetings to gather
input on what kinds of services and amenities the new space
should include. The first phase of construction is scheduled to
begin in the north end of the student center in February, Blood
said.
"Although the flood was devastating, it gave us a rare
opportunity to design the student center in a way that will offer
more services and amenities than we had before," Blood said.
"When completed, the new lower level of Lory Student Center will
be a much more open and inviting place for students."
Designs call for new space for student media, office of
community services, student organizations, an outdoor recreation
center, bike repair shop, three restaurants, a convenience store
and copy center. Blood said the lower level also will include an
information desk, video arcade, cyber cafe and more gathering
space for students.
The Lory Student Center remodeling will be implemented in
phases so that students have access to the new areas as soon as
they are completed, Blood said. The entire project is scheduled
for completion this summer.
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