Plaza Theater Ceiling Restoration

 The restoration of the Plaza Theater has moved to the auditorium ceiling.  One of the biggest challenges was the choice of color palette.  The photo above shows the color choice and also provides a great contrast between old and new.  On the right hand side you see the second beam from the rear of the theater and the old paint job.  The red is muted and the stencils are showing their age as well. The gold of the ceiling is much darker due in part to a liberal dose of coal dust from the original heating system.  

The beam on the left shows off the new color scheme.  After a good cleaning, a base coat of red is added.  A copper-bronze wash is added on top of that.  The two beam stencils are navy blue.  The main field of the ceiling is first painted with a base of Light Gold. One can see the base color just to the left of the second beam.  It is a very light green appearing mint green in color.  A GOLD wash is added on top of that.  Finally the stencils are added in navy blue.

The wall colors are also visible in the photo.  The base coat here is a GOLDEN color.  On the left you can see Gold wash over the base.

Historically the paint job in the theater comes from the Art Deco period.  Stenciling was common then and a faux finish process was used extensively throughout.  Patterns of the original stencils were carefully recreated.  Technique and overall look and feel have been preserved.  The new color palette is just a bit lighter.