Two City venues get important upgrades

The City of Hamilton has completed important renovation works on two well-utilised public buildings

Beneath the venerable stage at the Earl Cameron Theatre in Hamilton’s City Hall, lies a space that is purposefully hidden from public view but serves a vital role for the venue. It is the backstage area that allows dancers, pantomime players, singers or visiting performers to ready themselves to put on a show.

“The biggest challenge was finding a time to do the renovations,” says Patrick Cooper, City of Hamilton Chief Operating Officer and City Engineer. “Between the recitals, plays, concerts, the Festival and all the associated rehearsals, it is a very heavily used facility. And with a wide range of needs for each type of performance, so it was quite an interesting little project.”

To bring the backstage forward in time, Mr. Cooper says the City consulted with many of the performing arts groups that host events at the iconic venue.

“We reached out to different organisations because the last thing we want is to deliver upgrades that aren’t helpful to the people who use the theatre. There have been ‘band-aid’ updates over the years, but this space was long overdue a major facelift.”

The renovations included creating a new space adjacent to the orchestra pit, and also opening up and repurposing the existing space – which is about 2000 sq. ft. in total.

“We opened up what was a corridor and placed lockers for storage, as well as creating attractive dressing rooms and an area that can be used as a Green Room before performers go on stage,” he says.

Like with any old building, the project revealed a few surprises including significant termite damage which required removing most of the woodwork and trim. From there, the floors, walls and ceiling were upgraded, and new lighting, mirrors and countertops were added.

“We really freshened the place up. There are good clean washrooms and more open space that can be adapted for whatever is needed. The feedback we’ve had from the various groups has been very good,” says Mr. Cooper.

And while there was no major work done in the theatre area it was given a new colour scheme as well as repairs to the chairs and redoing the armrests.

“It’s one of the few facilities of its kind in Bermuda, certainly given the location, so it’s about continually trying to keep it fresh and relevant,” he says.

Meanwhile, across town on Front Street, another old building received an even more substantial renovation. The upper level at Pier 6, long used as an arrival hall for visiting cruise ships, has been transformed into a 12,000 sq. ft. indoor/outdoor event space, complete with a catering kitchen and built-in A/V system.

“This is a tricky old building,” says old and, as well as being riddled with termites, featured some interesting building techniques. The more we peeled back the layers the more challenges we found. We ended up with about 40 change orders to this project.”

For starters, the two gable ends were built in Bermuda stone and “failing”, so between that and the termites the entire roof structure had to be replaced. They were, however, able to salvage and refit the wrought iron trusses in the roof which are now an interesting period feature of the interior.

“The trusses run all the way down the length of the building, and we’ve left them exposed,” he explains.

Another challenge came in the form of walls built from poured concrete, which proved difficult when opening and adding new window and door spaces on the harbour side.

“This is very unusual to find anywhere, let alone in a 100-year-old building,” says Mr. Cooper. “We opened up the three old gangways and added several more floor-to-ceiling doors and windows. The contractor showed up with his nice cutting tool not expecting to find poured concrete walls. It took us a while to cut all those openings.”

The openings are now home to 6’x8’ doors and windows that capture “awesome” views of the Hamilton harbour.

Given the size of the venue and volume of traffic it can expect, Mr. Cooper says the upgrades also ensured the durability of the space. For example, on the floor are 2’x2’ Terrazzo tiles, which is the same material found in heavy traffic facilities like airports.

“Terrazzo is an epoxy-like aggregate system that is usually

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poured and then ground and polished smooth. The tiles we’ve used are just as durable but less expensive and easier to install. They also allow for a bit of movement in the floor of an old building,” he explains.

Other improvements include a separate hallway to the washrooms and better access to the kitchen for the catering staff, all of which, when combined with the 6000 sq. ft. exterior deck, add up to a unique venue perfectly situated for a variety of harbourside events.