Build Georgia Award
The Show Goes On:
Phillips Construction Restores Springer Opera House
By Jim Ross
People who love the historic Springer Opera House in Columbus knew it needed some structural work. But they didn’t realize how badly the help was needed until crews started construction. Workers found rotted floor joists and other major problems.
“Some parts of the building could have failed if it had gone unfixed,” said Chris Peebles, Chairman of the Building Committee. “We were in worse shape than we thought.”
But no one associated with Springer is singing the blues these days. The venerable Opera House is in better shape than ever, and the building committee – and, for that matter, all people who appreciate this historic landmark – have Phillips Construction Company, Inc. to thank.
Phillips, whose headquarters is in Columbus, has helped give Springer new life. For its efforts, Phillips won top honors in the 2000 Build Georgia Awards general contractor division for projects between $5 million and $20 million.
The Springer Opera House that patrons see today actually is a combination of three adjacent structures that were acquired through the years and tied in together. The original Opera House was built by Francis Joseph Springer, a Frenchman who had emigrated to Columbus before the Civil War. The Opera House made its debut in February 1871, and it came to be considered the finest facility of its kind between New York and New Orleans.
The Springer became a movie house during the 1920s and then closed its doors in 1959. It remained closed until 1964, when a group of concerned citizens bought the structure and began bringing it back to life. That rebirth was formally recognized in 1971, when then-Gov. Jimmy Carter designated Springer as the State Theater of Georgia because it so beautifully reflected the heritage and cultural development of Georgia and the Deep South. Today, patrons count on the Springer Opera House to stage productions of classic works such as Grease and The Sound of Music.
The Opera House has three stories, each with 25,000 square feet of space, and the facility had undergone three or four renovations during its history. At one early point in the structure’s history a dry goods store occupied the facility’s first floor. That was before the theater was moved to the first floor and the balcony was built. The brick walls are 16- to 24 inches thick, with built-in beam pockets for floor and roof joist supports.
Because Springer is such a historically and culturally significant icon, Phillips Construction’s primary challenge was preserving the structural integrity during demolition and renovation. This was not a simple task. The condition of the exterior walls and mortar required complete restoration of all mortar joints, which required the existing work and tuck pointing all joints with new mortar. Also, new beam pockets were constructed in existing masonry support walls for placement of new structural members.
“The biggest obstacles that we had were structural problems that no one knew existed until we uncovered them,” said William L. Bray, executive vice president of Phillips and project manager on the Springer job.
Crews learned that the main floor framing for the original theater was reused lumber, probably salvaged from another structure around 1900, when the Opera House was first renovated.
To ensure safe erection process for a new stage rigging support frame, crews constructed a scaffolding network that allowed the steel to be bolted together off the elevated, decked platform 60 feet above the stage floor. Steel members then were rolled in across the stage floor and lifted to the top of the scaffolding platform by a crane. Once members reached the platform, crews rolled them on dollies to their approximate location, then hoisted them into place by hand.
Bray said Springer was able to open for business nearly a year before work was completed, thus allowing the business to earn some money even during renovation. “It (the work) was completed in stages,” he said.
But the Springer Opera House is more than just a building. It’s a beloved institution, especially for people who know and live in this part of Georgia. That includes the people at Phillips, a company where 90 percent of the projects are, like Springer, within 50 miles of headquarters.
“It was much more than a construction project,” Bray said.
As a child and an adult, Bray has enjoyed watching performances at Springer. Working on this renovation has inspired him to secure season tickets.
“It’s kind of like there’s a piece of me down there,” he said.
