The Imperial Theatre has been a fixture on Broad Street for 105 years and recently went through a minor renovation as it gets ready to gear up for a massive $10 million renovation that will occur over five phases.
Originally named the Wells Theatre, the Imperial began its life in 1918 as a vaudeville house and was built on the “palace theater” design that was popular at the time.
According to Executive Director Charles Scavullo, the Imperial is actually two buildings.
“Jake Wells had the two-story portion on Broad Street built first and used the revenue from renting offices to build the actual theatre portion,” Scavullo said.
Western Union rented offices in the building from 1918 all the way up to the 1970s.
When moving pictures came along, the theatre was fitted with a movie screen and a “Mighty Wurlitzer” organ was installed in 1925. The so-called one-man orchestra would play along while silent movies flickered on the screen.
Movie theaters were some of the first commercial buildings to install air conditioning, making them the perfect place to get out of the heat and enjoy some entertainment. Some people would spend an entire day slurping on a Coca-Cola watching newsreels, cartoons, shorts and a double-feature.
In those days, kids would hunt for returnable glass bottles to afford the 25 cent admission fee.
The Imperial continued to show movies until malls replaced the downtown sector for retail and entertainment. By the late 1970s, the Imperial limped along as the primary place for groups such as the Augusta Ballet, Augusta Players and Augusta Symphony to put on live entertainment.
However, by that time, the theatre’s cramped backstage area was simply too small for larger touring shows, so the building stayed empty most of the time.
As the theatre struggled to remain alive, the rusted out grand marquee was removed and replaced by a simple sign, leaving the building looking like any other ordinary office building. Inside, the inability to constantly run the air conditioning allowed humidity to attack the intricate plaster molding and “blooms” began to appear. The carpet and seats became ratty, and the theatre really began to show its age.
By the early 2000s, financial mismanagement and the fact that local arts groups lost interest in performing at the rundown facility threatened to close the theatre for good.
Enter Charles Scavullo.
Scavullo was hired in 2008, and he immediately went to work turning the ailing theater around. With limited funding, Scavullo first tackled the infrastructure issues and then went about restoring the cosmetic features. Scavullo says he was surprised at some of the plaster features as they were restored.
“I thought that the heads in the plasterwork were gargoyles, but once they were repaired, I remembered my humanities class in college and realized they weren’t gargoyles at all, they are depictions of Dionysus, the Greek God of Theatre,” Scavullo said.
The original Mighty Wurlitzer organ was found in Marietta and has been returned to the theater where it sits in the lobby awaiting a full restoration. According to the theatre’s website, the organ will eventually go back to its original place in the orchestra pit with a special lift so that audiences can watch performances.
The renovations aside, Scavullo realized the theatre would never make it unless he could get audiences, and he began seeking out any entertainment that would draw a crowd. Acts such as Ed Turner and Number 9 packed the theatre for the first time since its heyday.
Turner says it was a pleasure working with Scavullo over the years.
“Charles Scavullo personifies the ‘hands-on’ approach to running a theatre. It requires much more than a ‘one-trick-pony’ and the number of hats Scavullo sports are absolutely vital for a theater to succeed in these trying times,” Turner said.
The temporary scaffolding is now coming down to make way for a weekend performance of Moon Taxi & The Stews benefit concert. However, Scavullo beams with pride in showing off the design schematics for the upcoming full renovation.
An elevator will be installed, and areas of the second floor will be opened with access to the seating areas where showgoers will be offered a second snack bar. The restrooms will be thoroughly redone to ADA specifications.
Care is also being taken to make sure that even the paint colors are original to the building.
So, Augusta’s Grand Lady is not only coming back from the brink of destruction, but eventually it will be an even grander palace than before.
…And that is something you may not have known!
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
