Residents savage Biloxi’s Saenger Theatre carpet job. ‘This is a joke, right?’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- City awarded $73,100 carpet contract to low bidder Continental Flooring Co of Arizona.
- Residents and councilman criticize random carpet-square pattern and installation.
- Restoration of the historic theater has been going on for years.
The newly laid carpet in the historic Saenger Theatre looks a little wonky, many residents and the councilman for the ward agree.
The city awarded low-bidder Continental Flooring Co., headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, a contract in August to supply and install the carpet squares for $73,100. Two South Mississippi companies submitted higher bids for the work, the records show.
The carpet squares are patterned but appear randomly laid rather than placed so the pattern looks uniform.
The city proudly posted pictures of the carpet Tuesday on its Facebook page, with the comment, “Big things are happening at the Saenger Theatre! New carpet installation is underway. This upgrade is part of our ongoing efforts to keep the Saenger beautiful, welcoming, and ready for unforgettable experiences. Stay tuned to see what’s next.”
The city post garnered 445 comments and 54 shares in under 24 hours. Many of the comments were brutal:
“It looks like a cross between a Biloxi casino and a Victorian bordello — and that’s without the hideous mismatch. That carpet is so ugly it hurts my feelings.”
“This is a joke, right?”
“You still have time to delete this.”
But some commenters thought the carpet looked fine and mentioned fond memories of the Saenger, which opened in 1929 and has undergone several renovations.
“Just beautiful,” one commenter said. “Reminds me of great theaters in Europe.”
At least one commenter said the carpet tiles were not intended to match up.
Continental’s project manager for the Saenger did not respond Wednesday to a message from the Sun Herald about the job. City offices were closed Wednesday to Friday for Christmas.
Councilman questions restoration cost, time
But Councilman Anthony Marshall, who represents Ward 2 were the Saenger is located, said he intends to check out the carpet.
“I just saw the comments online and have to look at it more,” Marshall said. “It doesn’t look good . . . We need to find out what happened.”
“Just looking at the pictures, I’m not happy with it, but I need to go physically look at it.”
Marshall, who took office July 1, said he’s also concerned about the time and money the city has spent on the Saenger. The city closed the Saenger in 2018 because the building had deteriorated to the point that it was deemed unsafe. No reopening date has been announced.
Restoration costs were estimated at $5.3 million in 2021. The state Legislature has supplied at least $2 million in BP funds from the 2010 oil catastrophe for the restoration. The city in May amended its budget to move $200,000 from a city economic development to pay for interior work, including carpet, at the Saenger, city records show.
“This is one of the mayor’s pet projects, and I’m for it,” he said. “I want to see it done.” But, he added, “It’s a lot of money that has been spent prior to me coming to the City Council, and it’s still not open for business.”
