If you have driven or walked down Ashmun Street today, you may have seen some activity taking place outside of Soo Theatre, where Chalou Designs is hanging its updated and much brighter 1940 marquee.
The north side of the sign reads, "Thank you, Sault Ste. Marie." Although the marquee will not be entirely up this evening, community members are invited to come out at 5 p.m.
"We started this process two years ago," Justin Knepper of Knepper Development Strategies said. "I've been working with Soo Theatre executive director Colleen Arbic and the theatre board on fundraising. I believe this sign was around $90,000. The money was raised locally from various local businesses and individuals. We also used a few grants."
The Soo Theatre team hired Chalou Designs out of Ann Arbor to reconstruct and hang the theatre's marquee, which has been painted the colors of its original design.
"When they built this building in 1930, it had a different marquee," Arbic said. "In 1940, they put this marquee up. We have renovated it to look like it did then, except much brighter. The colors are just wonderful."
Owner of Chalou Designs Mark Chalou explained the renovation process involved in modernizing the Soo Theatre's marquee.
"This sign is retrofitted with 1.1 watt LED and all new neon bulbs," he said. "The sign chases at its bull nose to come down underneath the lower portion. We dismantled the sign to take components from its bull nose and sides back to the shop. We used them as patterns to replicate what we were putting back up."
The new sign's bulbs were constructed to create a "wow effect," as seen by all turning heads down Ashmun Street this afternoon.
"The longevity and brightness are really going to make it pop," Chalou said. "Imagine pulling up in a limousine to walk out on a red carpet."
The Soo Theatre marquee was supposed to be up sooner than this weekend.
"Almost everyone in the shop had COVID," said Chalou. "We also had a couple of weather delays here. Then, one of our guys broke his leg. Another team member's mother passed away. It's been sitting completed for about four months."
"Chalou Designs is one of the state's premier marquee restoration companies," Knepper said. "I'm very excited to see the sign go up. This is the last theatre in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, and the last community theatre remaining in the Eastern Upper Peninsula (EUP). It's coming back to life."
Chalou Designs has done major theatre restorations throughout the Midwest to include The State Theatre in Ann Arbor, Bryan Theatre in Bryan, OH, Royal Oak Music Theatre, and Farmington Civic Theatre. It has recently been awarded a project for restoration work on the Rogers City Theatre.
Currently, Arbic is collaborating with other theatre members to hold a much larger community event on a night without so many theatre classes going on.
"We would like to thank Justin Knepper," Arbic said. "We also thank Mark Charlou and his company. They are doing a wonderful job. I am so excited to see this go up. Thank you to the community for supporting us."
Soo Theatre is located at 534 Ashmun St., Sault Ste. Marie, MI, United States. Call 906-632-1930 for information pertaining to classes and upcoming events.
