NEGAUNEE, Mich. (WZMQ) – This week the city of Negaunee removed the marquee paneling from the outside of the historic Vista Theatre to make it more safe for pedestrians outside the building, as the paneling was beginning to fall off.
The paneling removal is another step in a long process that began with cleaning the interior and replacing the theatre’s roof last year. Nate Heffron the city manager said the next step is finishing the blueprints so they can begin restoration work on the rest of the building.
“There’s quite a lot of work that still has to be done before any decision is made on whether the panels have to be restored or whether we can keep is original facade,” said Heffron. “There’s a lot of work that we still have to do inside the building as well. We’re working through a process of getting all our engineering documents squared away and building permits squared away before we can move forward with that.”
Heffron said they hope to begin restoring the rest of the building by the end of this year.
