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News Coverage of Vitrolite and Tim Dunn

Vitrolite in the Headlines

Maplewood Home
Tim Dunn installs Vitrolite in the kitchen, bathroom, and launder room of a home in Maplewood

Hamilton's Storefront
Tim Dunn repairs damage to 80-Year-Old Black Glass on Storefront of Hamilton's in Brownwood, Texas

Artcraft Theatre
The Artcraft Theatre in Franklin, Indiana was restored with various Vitrolite techniques by Tim Dunn.

The Future Antiques
South Saint Louis storefront remodeled with Vitrolite.

New Use for an Old Tile
Tim Dunn restores a home in Ladue, MO.

Pieces of the Past
Tim Dunn restores storefronts in Palestine, TX.

Makeover Aims to Light up Downtown
Tim Dunn restores the Zoe Theater in Pittsfield, IL.

A GLASS BY ITSELF
Vitrolite finds itself once again in demand – an article from the Kansas City Star.

Rivoli Theatre
Tim Dunn in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, restoring the Vitrolite on the Rivoli Theatre.

Glass Rejuvenated at Former Gibson Building
Tim Dunn in Appleton, Wisconsin, working on the former Gibson building.

Vitrolite Needed for Deco Theater Refurb
Vitrolite restoration of the Augusta Historic Theatre.

Visiting Specialist Fixes Old-Style Glass
Tim in Mt. Vernon, Il.

Vitrolite: Glass and class of the past Art glass of yesteryear offers a beautiful choice....

The Oman of Vitrolite All about Tim Dunn's work with pigmented structural glass from the Old House Web....

A Modern-Day Vitrolite Mine by Edelene Wood West Virginia's Parkersburg-Vienna area was a well-known source of world famous Vitrolite glass manufacturers in the decades of 1907-1937....

Vitrolite Man Vitrolite, that opaque glass tile common in fine St. Louis ....

Gala at Gem Theatre Marks Cultural Renaissance The Gem's red and gold marquee, standing tough in defiance of decades of decay, was alive again...

Ritz Theater Director Travels West to Gather Ideas for Talladega Antique Talladega Executive Director George Culver has just returned from a four-week, 5,600-mile driving tour....

Luck Helps Man Find Microniche If you'd ask Tim Dunn to fill out a survey stating his profession, he'd have a problem.  You see, what Dunn does lies outside the box....

Tim Dunn and Vitrolite: Each One of a Kind During the 1920's through the 1940's Vitrolite was used on the exterior of many buildings, especially theaters, as well as....

Visitor to Help Salvage State Theatre Glass During the 1920's through the 1940's Vitrolite was used on the exterior of many buildings, especially theaters, as well as....

Gala at Gem Theatre marks district's cultural renaissance

August 31, 1997
THE KANSAS CITY STAR


by Laura R. Hockaday, Society Editor

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 A sellout crowd celebrated the rebirth of the 85 year-old Gem Theatre at a gala opening Saturday night in the 18th & Vine Historic District.


 The event, featuring singer Nancy Wilson on stage in the 500-seat theatre, signaled the renaissance of 18th & Vine, a thriving entertainment district in the 1930s and 40s but virtually abandoned since the 1960s.

 Excitement flowed as freely as the libations served at a VIP reception before Wilson stepped onto the stage, which stretches 75 feet across and 35 feet deep. Red seats contrasted with navy blue walls, flecked with gold. Velvet stage curtains matched the walls.

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 Wilson, who had performed at the Gem years ago, said that the facade looked like the old movie house she expected but that she was surprised and impressed by the "modern, state-of-the-art"interior.


 Guests included NationsBank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William C. Nelson and his wife, Barbara, and Sprint executive David P. Thomas and his wife, Anne.

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The couples served as gala co-chairmen. NationsBank has underwritten the Gem's entire inaugural season, which contiues through April. Sprint was the main corporate sponsor for the gala.

 

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The Gem's red and gold marquee, standing tough in defiance of decades of decay, was alive again, as was the facade nurtured by dedicated craftsmen such as Timothy Dunn.

He has commuted regularly from St. Louis to replace the dust rose Vitrolite pigmented plate glass that is no longer produced. Dunn had seen some on an old building on 39th Street and talked the owner into parting with at least 50 pieces. Hours before guests arrived, Dunn was lovingly sponging off the glass covering the front of the Gem.

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