OFS Corp.’s onsite wood refinishing crew work diligently to deliver results
on time and within budget
In October 2019, Conn College broke ground on the Frank Loomis Palmer Auditorium renovation project.
After 18 months the project is within its final stages. The new state of the art facility is being hailed as a center for performance and creative research.
The approximate overall cost of the project was $24 million.
A core requirement was achieving a historically informed renovation of the Art Deco design style, entryway, and façade of the 1939 theater.
Famed architect William Lamb, principal architect of the Empire State Building, designed the 1300-seat hall to serve the campus as well as the surrounding community.
The historic theater has hosted performances by renowned musicians including: The New York Philharmonic, The Boston Symphony Orchestra, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Twyla Tharp, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Joel, Yo-Yo Ma, Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds, and many others.
Historical wood restoration is a specialty of our field technicians who work onsite repairing, blending, and refinishing wood surfaces to bring woodwork back to life.
The OFS crew focused their efforts on the theater balcony and lobby areas. Refinishing railings and wainscoting panels along both staircases as well as in the building’s entryways. In some areas, original woodwork was not salvageable and needed to be replaced by a millwork shop. This new millwork was finished onsite by our talented field technicians to the extent that original woodwork could not be distinguished from the new material – even where the surfaces meet, side-by-side.
Refinishing the full wooden “tunnels” leading into the theater as well as the wood trim of the grand balcony was the icing on the cake.
