High rise apartments and swanky bars will no longer be the only projects making waves on State Street. Madison’s historic Orpheum Theater will soon see a refurbished vintage sign before winter.
The Madison Landmarks Commission on Monday approved Orpheum owners Gus and Mary Paras’ $200,000 proposal for the sign’s restoration, according to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal. The proposal includes plans to refurbish the noticeably aging piece of Madison history to its original 1926 look.
To create the replica, designers will base their plans off photographs and original drawings, culminating in an aluminum replacement featuring energy efficient lighting. Additionally, plans for the sign include enhanced definition through use of thin sheet metal outlines around the original letters and perimeter, according to WSJ.
Since the establishment of the local landmark in 1926, the Orpheum’s sign has only been refurbished on two occasions, most recently in the 1960s, according to WSJ.
The Orpheum’s original architects, Rapp and Rapp, constructed the theater featuring an Art Deco exterior and French Renaissance interior, according to the Orpheum’s website.
The theater’s new owners, the Paras family, acquired the facility in fall of 2013, a week before its looming foreclosure. The sign’s restoration is one step along the way of a nearly $3 million effort to eventually restore the theater to its 1926 semblance.
