Hospitality & Entertainment

Major Renovation Rejuvenates New York City Bowtie Cinema.

Bow tie Cinemas can best be described as a circuit of deluxe, intimate, first run cinemas designed to bring style and elegance back to the movie going experience.

The business began in 1900 when Benjamin S. Moss came to the United States from Austria and founded B.S. Moss Enterprises which was initially a chain of store front nickelodeons. Under the direction of B. S. Moss' son, Charles, and grandson, Charles Jr., the theaters grew into the largest independently owned and operated motion picture theater circuit in Metro New York.

In the summer of 2007, the outdoor main entrance for the Schenectady, New York Bow Tie Cinema was scheduled for renovation, and the owner was not happy with the look of the exposed aggregate. The existing surface was exposed pea gravel concrete with snow melt, and the challenge was to create a sun dial with Q-11 quartz over concrete.

All buildings on the street were undergoing major renovations, so the finished product had to blend in and stay consistent with the architecture of the main street. According to Project Manager Mark DeLorenzo of BBL Construction Services, the aggregate did not have a uniform appearance when completed and the inconsistency in his opinion was possibly caused by a bad batch of releasing agent.

Two issues they had to face with this project was that the concrete sidewalks could not be removed because the theatre would be open to the public during the renovation, and there was an extensive amount of snowmelt tubing underneath. The decision was made to use Dur-A-Flex's (MMA) Cryl-A-Quartz product and have Mike Kilcullen, Dave Donlon and their crew from Key Equipment resurface the sidewalks.

The preparation began with shot blasting and diamond grinding the surface. Since this was an outdoor project being done on a busy city street, the crew found it necessary to erect a perimeter containment barrier to prevent flying debris from harming pedestrians and to eliminate public gawking and questions about the installation.

They started with P-101 primer followed by a scratch coat of G-201 and SL filler. A double broadcast of Q-11-31 and Q-11-36 into G-201 was used to create the "lines" of the sundial, and they finished with two topcoats of T-303.

Project Manager, Mark DeLorenzo remarked that once completed, the new surface hides all of the blemishes in the concrete, and since the cure of the product was extremely fast, the daily operation of the theatre was not impacted. He also added, "The new surface of the sidewalk really gives a unique appearance to the entrance of the theatre."