About that mismatched Saenger Theatre carpet: Biloxi’s mayor is working on a fix
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Biloxi mayor orders replacement of some Saenger Theatre carpet tiles to fix misalignment
- City spent $73,100 on tiles; vendor says installation met contract and guidelines.
- Restoration tops $5M; mayor aims to reopen theater in coming weeks.
Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said the city intends to rearrange some of the recently installed carpet tiles at the historic Saenger Theatre so that the classic pattern the city selected no longer appears so misaligned.
Hundreds of South Mississippians took to social media to make fun of, or complain about, the recent installation job after the city posted Facebook photos.
“We’re not satisfied with the outcome and are looking at ways to reconfigure the tiles and make it acceptable,” Gilich said Wednesday in an interview with the Sun Herald.
Local interior designers and flooring specialists have looked at the tiles and believe they can improve on the alignment of the pattern, although the tiles won’t match up perfectly. The city chose tiles over broadloom, or carpet woven on a wide loom, such as wall-to-wall carpet, because the tiles are easier to replace when damaged.
The carpet tiles and installation cost $73,100, which was the low bid from vendor Continental Flooring Co. of Scottsdale, Arizona. Continental told the Sun Herald that the city was informed that the tile option meant the pattern would not align seamlessly.
“The installation itself was completed correctly and professionally, in full accordance with the contract documents and the manufacturer’s installation guidelines,” a statement from the company said.
Even so, the mayor said, “This was a more random pattern than we were expecting.”
Gilich believes the city’s cost for realigning some of the tiles will be relatively low. The city was left with a good number of spare carpet tiles that can be used.
Historic Biloxi theater closed
The historic theater closed for safety reasons in March 2018 and the city began taking proposals for restoration in July 2019. The mayor wants to see it reopened within the next 12 weeks.
He teared up when talking about what the Saenger means to city residents. Gilich attended 25-cent movies at the Saenger as a child and watched his two daughters in dance recitals there.
He said that he’s “passionate” about the restoration. Before it began, there was talk of tearing down the Saenger, which was not properly repaired after Katrina, he said, and was leaking. It had also become a safety hazard by the time the doors closed.
“When it’s open,” he said, “it’s going to be done the right way and everybody will be proud of it.”
Restored building now water-tight
Gilich said the pattern in the tiles won’t match perfectly, but he particularly wants to ensure the pattern lines up better in the lobby. The lobby, he said, needs “that wow factor.”
The restoration has cost $5 million or more, with the city providing a good bit of the funding and the state chipping in. He said annual fundraisers will be held for the theater and a management company will be hired to run it. The company also might put on events at the Shuckers stadium on U.S. 90 and at the Biloxi Civic Center on Howard Avenue.
One reason restoration has taken so long, Gilich said, is because the Mississippi Department of Archives and History must approve most of the work in advance so that the historical character of the building is preserved. The two-story, neo-classical theater was completed in 1929 and is listed as a Mississippi landmark.
The restoration has included sealing the building envelope so that it is water tight, replacing a fly tower in danger of falling, restoring chairs in the 900-seat theater, extensive plaster repair and other work. Gilich said the 60-foot fly tower used to lower and raise sets is built to professional standards.
The latest work includes the carpet tiles, and the addition of LED lighting and audio. Lighting also is being upgraded and Gilich hopes to see a multi-screen video wall added at the back of the stage, if funding or donations allow.
Gilich recalled the passion of Biloxi resident Gwen Gollotte, now deceased, in pushing for restoration of the Saenger. He thinks of her when discussing the carpet tiles and getting them straightened out.
The mayor said, “She would be haunting us if we didn’t do it right.”
