Over
the Summer of 2000, pedestrians on Weybosset Street might
have found themselves wondering what was going on at PPAC,
as workers systematically dismantled and removed the Theatre's
marquee. On October 15, 2000 the answer lit up Weybosset Street,
when the Theatre's new marquee and vertical sign were unveiled.
Drawing upon the Theatre's
original 1927 marquee plans, the architects of Newport
Collaborative created a new digital marquee and vertical sign that harkens
back to the Loew's Theatre as it looked in 1928. This
high-tech version has a Liquid Electronic Display (LED) letter board on all three
sides, as well as an additional LED sign underneath the marquee, above the entrance
doors. All signs are computerized.
Funding for the project came
from a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, and was championed by the Rhode Island Congressional delegation
of Senators Jack Reed and the late John Chafee, as well as Representatives
Patrick Kennedy and Robert Weygand.
The support that has been shown
by state and city government for this project underscores
PPAC's role as the jewel of the Providence arts community,
as well as a catalyst for continued business growth and economical
development in the city. "This was a great effort on the part
of a lot of people", said Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr.
Take a moment to look at the
many faces that the Theatre has shown the public in the
last 80 years, as well as the new face that now illuminates Down
City!
