# Sandusky State Theater Heavily Damaged in 6/10 Storms



## mrtrudeau23 (Jun 11, 2020)

These images are incredible and heartbreaking. The awesome power of nature. Do we have any friends on CB who work there?








‘We will be back’ Sandusky State Theatre says after storms cause extensive damage to historic building

‘We will be back’ Sandusky State Theatre says after storms cause extensive damage to historic building



fox8.com












Look: Storms severely damage Sandusky State Theatre

Portions of the walls & roof are gone, with bricks scattered all over the sidewalk & street.



www.wkyc.com


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## mrtrudeau23 (Jun 11, 2020)

A couple images from inside the theater. So very sad.


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## Morte615 (Jun 11, 2020)

I did some work there, and visited many times while I was living in Sandusky. I know lots of people who have worked/working there. Last I heard no one was inside the building and they are doing damage assessment today.


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## JohnD (Jun 11, 2020)

Since some media stories have a short online life, here are a few pics:


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## JohnD (Jun 11, 2020)

And before pics from Google Earth:


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## macsound (Jun 11, 2020)

That exterior photo is insane. I was wondering how only that section of the roof caved in but it's much more obvious now seeing the outside. Very sad. Hopefully coverable from insurance.
In the first photo from Twitter, there's a long corrugated thing that extends from the ceiling in the foreground to almost the floor. Can't figure out what it is. Any thoughts?
I put an arrow here.


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## JohnD (Jun 11, 2020)

The Theater's TECH SPECS.
OH, and addition to @macsound 's green arrow pointed to that metal thing (which might be a fitment for expanded metal plaster lath) it also may point to parts of the Nexo line array.
Now, my question, is that large sky painted thing perhaps an asbestos fire curtain?


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## GreyWyvern (Jun 11, 2020)

JohnD said:


> Now, my question, is that large sky painted thing perhaps an asbestos fire curtain?


No. That is was the ceiling.


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## mrtrudeau23 (Jun 11, 2020)

JohnD said:


> The Theater's TECH SPECS.
> OH, and addition to @macsound 's green arrow pointed to that metal thing (which might be a fitment for expanded metal plaster lath) it also may point to parts of the Nexo line array.
> Now, my question, is that large sky painted thing perhaps an asbestos fire curtain?


I was also going to say the metal piece the arrow points to looks like a piece of a plaster ceiling.
I doubt it was the fire curtain. In the second image @JohnD posted, it looks like the fire curtain (or something) is still attached to the back of the pro arch.


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## josh88 (Jun 12, 2020)

Our local in toledo has reached out to offer help, so far the TD doesn't want any, they're just trying to wrap their head around it all. It was a microburst that basically dropped right on top of them and then vanished. This is a facebook video so it may not play because of permissions but it shows part of the wall collapse right at the start.


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## rsmentele (Jun 12, 2020)

That is devastating. It has to be totally unsalvageable.... Wow


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## Van (Jun 12, 2020)

macsound said:


> That exterior photo is insane. I was wondering how only that section of the roof caved in but it's much more obvious now seeing the outside. Very sad. Hopefully coverable from insurance.
> In the first photo from Twitter, there's a long corrugated thing that extends from the ceiling in the foreground to almost the floor. Can't figure out what it is. Any thoughts?
> I put an arrow here.View attachment 20287


My guess is that is Ante-pro lighting for that ceiling.


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## Van (Jun 12, 2020)

Wow, I gotta say that must have been some wind storm but, this was an UMB <Un-reinforced Masonry Building> and from the looks of it it had surprising few Pilasters to add support for the grid and fly house and I see no steel. I would like to see what those wall were supporting and what that load was.


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## LLDeen (Jun 12, 2020)

Very devastating. Heard about it right after it happened as my current GM is close friends with the GM there and is a local Ohioan as well. She offered to have our team go out, historical theatre helping historical theatre. Not sure there's much to help with at this point unfortunately.


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## FMEng (Jun 12, 2020)

I'm glad nobody was hurt. What if the pandemic hadn't closed it?

I have to wonder if the building ever got a thorough, bottom to top structural examination. Is it possible that codes didn't require it, if a lot of the renovations were cosmetic? I know wind can be extremely powerful, but it just doesn't seem like a healthy structure would have failed to that extent.

I hope the engineering community takes a hard look at this.


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## Van (Jun 12, 2020)

FMEng said:


> I'm glad nobody was hurt. What if the pandemic hadn't closed it?
> 
> I have to wonder if the building ever got a thorough, bottom to top structural examination. Is it possible that codes didn't require it, if a lot of the renovations were cosmetic? I know wind can be extremely powerful, but it just doesn't seem like a healthy structure would have failed to that extent.
> 
> I hope the engineering community takes a hard look at this.


Notice the only wall still standing is the T-Bar wall. Looks to be the only steel in the flyhouse. Oh and the Smoke pockets for the Fire curtain.


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## BillConnerFASTC (Jun 12, 2020)

A big building is falling down and the guy with the cell phone is walking towards it? Darwin strikes again.


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## JohnD (Jun 12, 2020)

With other grand movie palaces that have gotten major renovations, it is not uncommon to block off the proscenium opening and demo the entire stagehouse and replace it with an all new, frequently expanded stagehouse. According to the tech specs, there was no crossover available, either at stage level or in a basement. As far as the ante-pro section of the damaged roof there is no telling how far the damage goes and what can be done to preserve the rest of the interior while that fix is ongoing. I wonder if there is a lift line for the grand chandelier?


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## BillConnerFASTC (Jun 12, 2020)

Van said:


> Notice the only wall still standing is the T-Bar wall. Looks to be the only steel in the flyhouse. Oh and the Smoke pockets for the Fire curtain.


Kind of looks like aluminum guide system, not steel. Except the lattice track for probably the fire curtain - standing taller than almost everything. Kind of liked real steel T bar systems - and now another reason.


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## Morte615 (Jun 16, 2020)

Drone footage of the damage.


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## Ancient Engineer (Jun 17, 2020)

I live three blocks from the theater. At my house there was rain and gusts and a few fallen branches, but nothing like this.

I was on my porch when this fell. At the time I didn't know what the sound was. (Sandusky is notorious for random booming with a quarry and industry nearby)

Since then I have spoken with a few board members and they have a great plan for moving forward with repair/restoration.

The recent reno was for electrics and sound. There is a bar of truss that was flown in front of the proscenium and all new electrics over the stage.

Best news is that the unobtanium chandiler was rescued!


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## TimMc (Jun 17, 2020)

Any local word on rebuilding? It ain't gonna be cheap...


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## Ancient Engineer (Jun 17, 2020)

Yes, the board members that I have spoken with say that there is an evolving plan to repair/restore and that it will take more than a bit of time to achieve fully.


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## dvsDave (Jun 19, 2020)

TimMc said:


> Any local word on rebuilding? It ain't gonna be cheap...










Board of directors votes to rebuild Sandusky State Theatre from devastating storm damage

The board of directors of the Sandusky State Theatre voted to rebuild the historic theater that collapsed during a storm last week.



fox8.com


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## JohnD (Jun 19, 2020)

From the link that @dvsDave posted here is another view of the image posted by @macsound .


To me it appears to be a strip light with external reflectors, perhaps with rondels.


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