HDC reviews new Dreamland plans
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
Two theater spaces able to seat 500 people total, preservation of historic architecture, retention of film uses, a near doubling of building space and homage paid to island movie-viewing nostalgia.

PHOTO ROB BENCHLEY/THE INDEPENDENT The ticket booth for the former Dreamland Theater provides a lens to the outside world. New owners plan to renovate by 2010.

Essentially, these are the goals of the nonprofit Nantucket Dreamland Foundation.

"It's to create a place where island residents and visitors during all seasons can go to experience the Dreamland and to expand programs for all seasons of the year," said Dreamland Project Manager Nick Iselin of Intercontinental Development of Brighton, Mass. to the Historic District Commission at is preliminary review on July 15.

The Dreamland Foundation wants to renovate the historic theater and expand it onto the Easy Street parking lot.

Structurally, Iselin and Engineer David Odeh told the HDC, the Dreamland Theater needs a lot of help. Though it has withstood weakening, adaptation and modification to its truss and bracing systems throughout the building for close to two centuries, current building codes dictate a complete shoring up, which Iselin said would include dismantling the building before reconstructing it three feet to the north on a new foundation.

PHOTOS ROB BENCHLEY/THE INDEPENDENT The view from the second floor of the Dreamland. Last weekend, the Farmers' and Artisans' market was held in the Dreamland's Easy Street parking lot.

At first blush, most of the commissioners had good things to say about the Nantucket Dreamland Foundation's early renovation plans for the Dreamland Theater building when it sought the commission's advice on how to generate an architectural design that would please the commission and the island public.

The Dreamland Foundation wants to build an addition nearly the size of the existing structure onto the 12,000 square foot building at the east end and add two more feet in height to the main building.

The design of the new Dreamland, by CBT of Boston's North End, shows a 350-seat movie theater with an enlarged stage on the first floor, a remodeled concession area, a 170- seat theater/multipurpose room on the second floor and kitchens on the second and third floors.

The Dreamland lobby had a popcorn and soda concession, but was never large enough to hold the crowd of movie goers who always spilled out into the street, waiting to get inside the theater.

Two ticket windows are planned on the Oak Street side of the building with the main entrance doors facing South Water Street. The addition would take up most of the parking lot on Easy Street. The Dreamland Foundation plans to include media and administration rooms, a boardroom, lobby, a 100-seat meeting room, a backstage room, new bathrooms and café and decks on the first and second floors.

At this preliminary review, a chance for the Dreamland Foundation to get design advice from the commission, acting HDC chairman Linda Williams asked for general comments from the commissioners, not shingle-by-shingle critiques.

"On the interior, I understand fully the need for the second floor separation and the beefing up to support the second-story theater," said HDC member David Barham who also had issues with overhang of the South Water Street façade displaying the words Dreamland Theater. "It does seem to me that there is an opportunity to support the roof trusses. It would be nice not to have an entirely modern room with roof trusses preserved. It would be nice to see some of the posts imbedded in the walls."

The theater was one of the last places in America, where one could experience the "Big Screen," especially when compared to the matchbox-sized screens in modern 12-screen movie complexes.

Fellow members Diane Coombs and Valerie Norton shared the belief that the building should be rebuilt resembling the current structure.

"I think the preservation of the building has been well thought out," said Coombs. "The plain walls disturb me. I would like to see the front, the façade come as close to what it was."

Norton took an even more conservative stance.

"I have to admit that I cringed every time you said 'your programmatic goals,'" said Norton. "Our charge is to protect historic structures and I understand you have needs, but my need is to protect the original structure as much as possible. I'd like to see the front remain as much historically as possible."

Patty Roggeveen, executive director of the Dreamland Foundation, takes people on a tour of the third floor.

Norton added that on the Easy Street side, she was also concerned with the outdoor space, the likes of which cannot be found in the Old Historic District right now and should be downplayed on the building.

And Williams told the Dreamland Foundation's design team that they were heading in the right direction, however, she does want the windows in theater building to be restored and remain where they are now.

"One of my issues after being in the building and taking pictures of the windows - it was different - programmatically. I would like to see the old windows, the difference in the windows, stay to give it more historical accuracy," she said.

At the close of this review, which took nearly three hours, the Dreamland Foundation, gave no indication of when it would be submitting definitive plans.

The Nantucket Dreamland Foundation purchased the theater building on two lots at 17 South Water St. and 18 Easy St. on Oct. 3, 2007 for $9.8 million from Zahavi's company, Dreamland Theatre ZMG, LLC after Zahavi failed to secure a building permit for his renovation plans for the building.

The Foundation is composed of summer residents, including Boston hedge fund manager and part owner of the Boston Celtics James Pallotta, Starwood Capital CEO Barry Sternlicht and Coatue Management Founder Philippe Laffont, Kathy Penske, John Johnson, Peter Palandjian, chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Developers of Brighton, Mass., Wendy Schmidt and Boarding House and Pearl owner Angela Raynor. I