Wilmot Greene Interview April 2011: Update On The Georgia Theatre
Today I called our friend owner of the Georgia Theatre--Wilmot Greene--regarding the rebuilding of the venerable Athens, Georgia, music venue. Here’s the latest …
James Calemine: Give us an update on rebuilding the Georgia Theatre…
Wilmot Greene: Construction is progressing. It’s a tough construction project for everyone involved. Part of the reason is it’s a weird project: we’re basically constructing a building inside of a building. It makes it tricky when you pour concrete for the floors and you got walls. It’s usually you pour the concrete before the walls go in. Our saving grace is sub-contractors and everyone involved is happy to be working on the project. It’s a cool job. The real complications have been space. We’re in the crowded downtown Athens area, and it’s tight. We’re getting a lot of support. People are still donating. The donations have picked up. For a while I don’t think people realized it was ever going to be rebuilt. We’re three months away…
JC: Any notable Grand Opening plans?
WG: What we’re going to do is have soft openings in mid-June and early July when we’re finished with construction. We’ll do that for six weeks where we won’t have any bands booked in advance, but we’ll get local groups to play. Then the Grand Opening will start in August. The first two weeks we’re working on having a big show every night in the first two weeks of August. We’re still working on the 14 night opening.
JC: What will be the biggest difference with this new building?
WG: Well, we’ll have a rooftop bar now. The restrooms will be located in the basement, and there will be a lot more of them. Everything will be new…
More Swampland coverage on the Georgia Theatre this summer…
James Calemine
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