Wilma adds marquee in homage to theater's history

Erik Sine · March 27, 2008

By PAMELA J. PODGER of the Missoulian

The historic Wilma building in downtown Missoula got a new sign Wednesday afternoon.

It is actually a replica of the 1940s-era sign that once sat above the entrance, with the addition of an electronic

reader board.

Photo by MICHAEL GALLACHER/Missoulian

With a half-twist for positioning before installation, a retro Wilma sign dangled from a crane at midday on Wednesday, heralding changes at the 86-year-old landmark building.

The 21-foot-tall replica Wilma sign in red and gold, adorned with six starbursts, weighs roughly 500 pounds.

“It is very flashy,” said Angela Pizzo, 28. “It's overwhelming, but it is beautiful.”

Justin Metcalf and Rick Wishcamper, whose Rocky Mountain Development Group Inc. purchased the building last fall, are pouring their energies and about $1.5 million into restoring the historic building. They're renovating the 60,000-square-foot interior as they also spruce up the exterior.

“I'm nervous. This is the first piece that is going up and initially it'll look out of place until the rest of the work is done,” Metcalf said. “I'm sure we'll take some heat for it.”

The 1940s-era sign now sits atop a new electronic display that will announce movies, performances and show times in red lights. The 2,500-pound display was set to be illuminated for the first time Wednesday night. The two signs cost about $70,000, with half the funds provided by Missoula's downtown business improvement district.

Given the Wilma's iconic status, the combination of the two signs drew a mixed reaction.

“It is sad to see such a fixture of downtown Missoula be transformed into something gauche,” said poet Ross Robbins, 24, who stopped to watch the action. “The (electronic) display just seems out of place.”

Natalie Christensen, 31, and Nathan McTague, 34, said they liked the vintage-looking Wilma sign, but said they considered the digital display as something akin to a gas station sign flashing $3.99 for a pack of cigarettes.

“There is something lost about the historic flavor of the Wilma when it is reduced to the gas-station level,” McTague said. “I really like the retro and really don't like the idea of the digital display, mostly because of the aesthetics.”

Metcalf said the building's prior owner, Tracy Blakeslee, created the design of the replica Wilma sign and handled the required city approvals. Metcalf and Wishcamper inherited the permits, design and historic reviews when they purchased the building in 2007.

The electronic display was needed for safety reasons - otherwise someone had to step out on a second-story catwalk to change the letters. Metcalf said the existing marquee will be refurbished by September.

“Part of the Wilma is a return to the historic, with a splash of technology,” he said, referring to the addition of the reader board, electronic ticketing, and lighting and sound in the main theater.

Philip Maechling, historic preservation officer for the Missoula Office of Planning and Grants, said the city approved both signs, as did the city's historic preservation commission.

“It was kind of a trade-off. They were doing a replication of the historic Wilma sign to give some integrity to the fa�ade of the building. The reader board approval was a practical solution to changing letters by hand,” he said. “In the '40s and '50s it was a pretty bright scene. In the era of vaudeville, things were bright.”

Dennis Alexander, a senior planner for OPG, said permits for both signs were approved in 2005 and the design review board doesn't have an expiration for its approvals.

The signs are part of a $400,000 makeover, at least, for the Wilma's exterior, Metcalf said. Crews started power-washing the brick Tuesday. Other work will include removing pigeon droppings, repointing some of the brickwork, repairing cornices and terra cotta bands, painting the windows, refurbishing the ticket booth, cleaning the marble fa�ade and pouring a new sidewalk. The marquee will be restored with new lights, fresh paint and a pressed-tin ceiling.

“We just got word from the engineers that the marquee is structurally sound,” Metcalf said. “It is from the 1950s. We'll sandblast it, paint it and restore the existing lights.”

More than $600,000 will be spent on the Wilma's interior re-do, Metcalf said, with another $500,000 slated for restoring the main theater. Total budget for the project is $1.5 million for the first year.

New fabric wall coverings are ready to go up in the 1,100-seat main theater, where the stage has been scaled back to its original footprint. Metcalf said about $150,000 to $200,000 of electrical work - including a new lighting truss - will be completed in the next year.

“Everything here is staying the same,” he said, standing in the theater. “It just needs help.”

In the theater's main lobby, changes are in the offing for the concession stand, which will serve standard movie snacks as well as candy drops and old-time treats.

Sam Oliver, project manager, said there are many different elements to the Wilma's restoration, from toning down the “bad wedding cake” colors of the lobby's fresco to dealing with antiquated plumbing and electrical wiring. Along the way, they've discovered treasures, including period light fixtures and 1930s lithographs tucked behind the screen of the small theater.

The fate of the former Red Light and Green Room and the small theater are still uncertain, Metcalf said.

Wishcamper said the small theater could remain, or may become a bar or coffee shop, with a direct entrance to the street. There are several blocked windows facing the Clark Fork River that could be uncovered, allowing in natural light.

On Wednesday, some of the final pieces of the Chapel of the Dove were taken to a new home at Rockin Rudy's. Bruce Micklus said his store has the high ceilings needed to accommodate the 18-foot, 9-inch altar. He's received old photographs of the chapel from people in the community.

“The idea is to build a historic tribute to it in my store,” Micklus said. “It'll remind people of something that was a fabulous piece of Missoula history.”

In the residential portion of the Wilma, Oliver said the terrazzo floors have been cleaned and polished. In the lobby, new wallpapering, paint and other details have been completed.

All of the 23 residential condos were sold before the renovations started. The three largest, which range from 900 square feet to 2,000 square feet, fetched prices of $140,000 to $700,000.

The remainder, which range from 400 square feet to 600 square feet, each sold for between $100,000 and $140,000. In several residential condos, the owners bought two units and knocked down walls to create a larger living space.

The condos facing the south side were the most popular - with views of the Clark Fork River and Bitterroot Mountains.

Wishcamper said three of the 12 commercial condos have been sold, including one for a restaurant, a film festival and a small local business.

Scott Gill, owner of Scotty's Table, said he intends to open his restaurant in the Wilma in May.

“Originally, we were hoping to be open in March or April,” he said. “It has been going along well, but we're waiting for a beer and wine liquor license.”

Overall, Wishcamper said they are happy with progress at the Wilma.

“We have a great group of contractors and subcontractors who are working hard and have professional integrity,” he said. “It is renovation, so there are unexpected things along the way. But overall, we are very happy.”

Lifelong Missoula resident Ray Rocene, 47, said he remembers the former Wilma sign.

“It seems to me when I was a kid and they had street fairs and they shut down Higgins, I remember standing underneath that sign. It feels authentic,” said Rocene, but reserved judgment on the electronic sign. “I won't know until I see it lighted up. It does seem like it might not go together very well.”