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NOT SINCE KING KONG HAS ANYTHING THIS DRAMATIC (OR THIS BIG) MOVED DOWN BROADWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
Historic Marquee Set to be Delivered To Famed Paramount in Times Square August 6
New York, NY (August 3, 2001) — Tobin+Parnes Design Enterprises, a full-service architectural and interior design firm, which has been working for 13 years to restore the famed Paramount Building to its original splendor, announced today that it will deliver the Paramount’s restored marquee on Monday, August 6.
The new marquee, which has been over 5 years in the making, has been assembled at the ADF Steel Shop, the same plant in South Plainfield, New Jersey where the Verrazano Bridge components were assembled. At 18 feet deep, 39 feet wide, 15 feet tall, and weighing in at over 19 tons, the marquee is larger than the average mobile home. It will travel in three pieces on two “wide load” flatbed trucks via escort through New Jersey, over the George Washington Bridge (which will close to other traffic) and then move down Broadway to the Paramount Building in the Heart of Times Square (Broadway @ 43rd Street).
While Times Square businesses will be closed (the Marquee is scheduled to arrive at approximately 1:00 a.m. and will be hanged by 6:00 a.m.), Tobin+Parnes and principals from World Wrestling Federation (which has its flagship restaurant and retail outlet in the Paramount building and which will be utilizing the new marquee), will be on hand to celebrate the Marquee’s long-awaited arrival and installation.
Says Tobin+Parnes Principal Robert Mark Parnes, “There is nothing quite like this Marquee. We have utilized the latest greatest technologies in creating it. The LED signage is so high resolution that there is no distortion even where the marquee curves. The entire unit will be lit by fiber optics. The Paramount’s original marquee was made of steel and covered with cast bronze ornamentation. The new Marquee is covered with state-of-the-art fiberglass reinforced plastic with a bonded bronze finish, which allowed us to re-create the scrolling and decorative leafing that made the original such a masterpiece. Yet, in spite of all the high-tech details, when you look at the Marquee, you get a feel for a bygone era, a time when entertainment ruled, when a live performance by Frank Sinatra or Tommy Dorsey at the Paramount was enough to make you forget your troubles. That’s what we set out for and that’s what we hope we have achieved.”
In addition to the recreation and installation of the marquee, other components of the Paramount Building restoration project have included the development of a master plan for the design of storefronts and signage, restoration of the building’s famed tower globe and clocks (in collaboration with Spectacolor) and the illumination of the tower setbacks (in collaboration with Ann Kale Associates). The cost to reconstruct the marquee, as well as the Paramount’s arch, is being funded by WWF Entertainment, for a total of $7.5 million and, says Kenton Jenkins, WWF New York’s VP/General Manager, “The cost is not a concern to us. By preserving the beauty and historic integrity of this Times Square landmark building, we’re giving something back to the community.”
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