LA PROPOINT WRAPS CRITICAL SUPPORTING ROLE IN THE RENOVATION OF HISTORIC BALBOA THEATRE

Company Traveled to San Diego to Install Modern Lighting and Acoustical System

(Sun Valley, Calif.) October 10, 2007 – LA ProPoint, a leader in the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of stage and show systems, has wrapped a critical supporting role in what is sure to be a crowd-pleasing drama—the elaborate, multi-million dollar restoration of San Diego’s historic Balboa Theatre.

When the curtains rise once again at this beloved downtown performing arts space, audiences will have more to admire than simply the acts on the stage.  For starters, they will sit beneath the glow of four massive, movable chandeliers and hear the sounds of a top-notch acoustical system.

As part of a thorough renovation under the direction of project architect Darrell Ziegler of Westlake Reed Leskosky, LA ProPoint took on the role of subcontractor to J R Clancy, which provided the engineering and equipment required for the job of updating the 1924 theatre’s lighting and acoustical systems to modern-day standards.

“Our work was complex but our goal was simple,” said Harvey Sweet, LA ProPoint’s vice president.  “We wanted anyone who remembered the legendary acoustics of the Balboa Theatre to sit down to a performance and find them enhanced by the work we did.”

The LA ProPoint team took on the task of improving the lighting and acoustical systems in an auditorium prized for the intricate plaster architectural details decorating its walls and ceiling.  It was a delicate job, but fortunately the LAProPoint team is highly skilled at working in cramped, irregular and historic spaces that require the utmost care; They realize that sometimes, the best way in is through the roof. 

The crew crawled into a narrow attic to install four manually operated hoists and the rigging required to raise and lower the Balboa’s antique chandeliers above the audience.  They also installed 8 acoustic banner systems including motors and banner drums weighing in excess of 1,000 pounds, and winches with the capability of lifting 500-pound drapery panels.

LA ProPoint even took center stage for a time.  The team installed manual counterweight rigging over the stage.  They also added 33 line sets, 16 of which are double-purchased, a new fire safety curtain and related rigging, and four heavy-duty, 400-pound lineshaft winches for lifting and storing acoustical shell towers.

“Restorations like the one at San Diego’s Balboa Theatre definitely present unique challenges and hurdles to overcome,” said Mark Riddlesperger, founder and president of LA ProPoint.  “We get a special satisfaction from creatively finding ways to do the job being asked of us while participating in the effort to respect and preserve historical buildings.”

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