On the opposite side of North Street, around 100 people attended a short ceremony that ended when Mayor James M. Ruberto threw a switch to bathe the restored building in floodlights.
"Look at this building, huh?" Ruberto said before throwing the switch. "Isn't it incredible?"
The interior of the building has been renovated into a structure that can house six cinemas with stadium seating.
Construction began in September 2008, following a one-year delay, and was originally expected to be completed by Dec. 14. But the opening date was moved up to Nov. 20 last month. Pittsfield has been without a cinema complex since March 2001.
The delay in construction occurred when the National Park Service determined that the design did not retain enough of the historic elements of the faces and entryway of the historic building to qualify for $900,000 in federal historic tax credits. The project's total cost skyrocketed from $12.6 million to $22.4 million.
"Working with a project for so long, seeing it almost happen many, many times, it's only today that I almost have tears in my eyes," project manager Richard Stanley said.
Ruberto thanked the local
"This doesn't happen by dreaming small," Ruberto said. "It comes from dreaming big."
The unveiling ceremony took place two days after the protective coating that had sheltered the facade from the elements since construction began was taken down. Ann Dobrowolski, of the Community Development Department, said the coating was removed when the scaffolding was dismantled.
She said the city had considered removing the coating at the unveiling ceremony, "but we couldn't really find a way to do it safely."
"It's really exciting to see it," she said. "It's beautiful. I can't stop looking at it."
According to the state Historical Commission, the Kinnell-Kresge building was built jointly in 1918 by George Kinnell, a local veterinarian, and the Kresge Syndicate, which ran a department store chain based in Detroit. The facade consists of brick and terra cotta, a clay-fired brick mixture, that adorns the top of the building. Joseph McArthur Vance, the building's original architect, also designed the Colonial Theatre.
The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means restoration is required to follow guidelines set by the Department of the Interior for historic buildings.
Architect John Waite, whom the city hired to oversee the restoration efforts, said some of the terra cotta had deteriorated and needed to be replaced.
"There were over 2,000 pieces of terra cotta," said Joe Lewis, the president of Allegrone Masonry in Dalton, which restored that portion of the facade. "Half of it was restored in Pittsfield, and half of it was restored in California. Each piece had a number, and it had to go back in the spot where it was originally."
The storefronts on the bottom floor were replicated using original photographs of the building, Waite said. The red-and-gold Beacon Cinema sign on the front of the building resembles the original Kresge's sign, but it was made of a different material than the original.
"It would have been prohibitively expensive," Dobrowolski said. "So we went looking for an alternative."
To reach Tony Dobrowolski: tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com, (413) 496-6224.
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