Seating Chart
Meet, the big crane
The Lobero is getting air conditioning for the first time in its existence. This air conditioning system is the thoughtful combination of modern engineering and historical elegance.
To wit: The Lobero Theatre was built in 1922 with no internal ducting structure whatsoever. In order to incorporate the comfort of a heating and air conditioning system into the auditorium, engineers and designers had to go deeper. In order to retain the Lobero’s historical integrity, it’s key that modernizations like this are not seen or heard. So, we called in the big guns. Experts including acousticians, HVAC professionals, architectural designers and historians were consulted to make sure the new system was integrated seamlessly, just the way George W. Smith & Lutah Maria Riggs would have liked.
As you can see, the solution was to house the big chiller on the roof of the Lobero and adjacent scene shop and add miles of ducting, much of which is underground, to reduce noise.
On August 6 a huge crane arrived at the Lobero to lift components for the new air conditioning system up onto the roof. Check out this 1 minute video snapshot of another milestone event in the Lobero Preservation Project. Video by David Bazemore.
