The Insane Plan to Lift a New York Theatre

How one construction team raised the roof -- literally.

Narrator - Fred Mills
Producer - Ian Parkin
Video Editing - Aaron Wood
Executive Producers - Fred Mills and Jaden Urbi

Additional footage and images courtesy of L&L Holding Company, Nickelodeon, CNBC, Eyewitness News, The Museum of the City of New York, RKO Pictures, Earthcam, The Dronalist.

#construction #architecture #NewYork

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© 2022 The B1M Limited

[jamesthemaniac]

Just remember, that the theatre was already buried behind LED signs and pretty hard to recognize. Ultimately, this is a huge win for the theatre, because when it was at street level, the street noise of cars waiting at that traffic light next to the TKTS booth coming in through the side doors was incredibly distracting and obnoxious. Hopefully raising it above street level will make shows much more enjoyable.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

No matter what they do now, the peak of Times Square for me will always be the Toys R Us flagship store. I mean it had everything you could ask for, a dedicated Wonka candy section, a freakin' T-Rex animatronic (now shredded and burned to pieces), an indoor Ferris wheel, huge Lego models, it was the perfect store. When Toys R Us first started closing stores, I was like "well other chains close stores, they will be just fine" but when that flagship store was announced to close because Toys R Us couldn't keep up with the rent, that's when I knew that this was serious. It was replaced by a Gap/Old Navy flagship...ugh

[Luuk]

This felt less like love for the Palace Theatre and more an example of corporate greed wanting to squeeze as much money out of a location whilst giving a historical landmark as little respect as legally possible.

[antomanifesto]

This project is really impressive, especially given the age and location of the building. In terms of the actual lifting, this happens more often than you'd probably expect. I work for one of the few companies in the world that specialises in this kind of work, and it's used all the time for raising/moving/installing oil rigs at sea, air traffic control towers etc. Bishop's Bridge near Paddington Station in London was also raised significantly in its entirety to allow for modernisation of the trainline below it.
MACE are also doing some really impressive work with their "rising factory" concept lately, essentially a warehouse structure that starts at ground level, within which the lower floors of a new building are built. As the construction progresses, the "factory" climbs up the building all the way up until they finish at the top floor, at which point it's lifted off of the top by a crane. Allows for construction of high-rise buildings to be undertaken in any and all weathers

[RoccosVideos]

It’s incredible what engineers can do today.

[demmyonline]

It's so refreshing to see a video on Youtube where the narrator doesn't poke his face in for no reason at all. This 10 minute video covers what most YouTube publishers couldn't cover in an hour. A few thousand "wannabe's" should watch this and wake up! Well done, a pleasure to watch and so educational.

[phaasch]

Phenomenal effort by the civils, here. Hard hats off to them for preserving this historic auditorium. Something similar was done with the Lyric theatre, Hammersmith UK, back in the 70s although in this case the 1890s auditorium was dismantled and re-erected, embedded into a new building on another location, so not quite as ambitious as this.

[darkwoodmovies]

Modern construction is absolutely insane. Like yeah, let's casually lift an entire building up 30 ft... while it's INSIDE another building. What a time to be alive.

[propositionjoe]

I think it would of been cooler to restore the outside area to a more historical look that makes it stand out in the sea of screens, lights and glass as something with a little more class. For me keeping a more historical look is more impressive than going with just more screens and lights that make it look exactly like the rest of times Square. Just my opinion though.

[kevindorward]

As a civil engineer, this channel always blows my mind! Keep up the good work

[Golinth]

The building that's going under/around it looks awful IMO. Does nothing to set itself apart from the rest of New York, just another building with a large LED screen.

[Whonamsauce]

I walk by this everyday and I never knew or noticed that they raised the structure. Wow honestly speechless work.

[Ahmed-N]

Incredible engineering, but such a disappointing outward design. They even hide the fact that there's a 100+ year old theatre on the inside, at which point you ask yourself what the point even is. Definitely might act as a hidden gem, but why hide something so beautiful. I guess the first tragedy was the decision to absorb the theatre in 1987 and not leave it as is.

[bingbongmcgee]

I think the whole essence of The Palace Theatre originally was to simply be "the place to be" and be the most enticing spot around. Back then, it was to literally look like a palace... Today, it won't look like an old palace on the outside, but it will certainly live up to its original intent of being the place to be.

[fawksntrawks]

The project is fascinating, the reason is ridiculous. You do this type of plan to move above a flood plain or expand an important mass transit line, not “we really, really believe Times Square needs another trinket store”

[randyseay]

I have been to the Palace 3 times over the years for Broadway shows. What they are doing is astonishing and I can’t wait to see it completed to its new glory.

[ThatsPrettyCool]

This project was right across the street from my last job. I met alot of great guys from that job because we worked together to get our projects completed (we had about 150ft of 47th st between us) It was incredible watching the existing tower be demolished and rebuild. They worked around the clock, an incredible project.

[gtlfb]

Astonishing. I saw “Cage aux Folles” there in the 80’s. Built before sound amplification, the balconies are incredibly steep so as to bring each seat as close to the stage as possible. I was about as high up as you could get, the ceiling seemingly just a few inches above me, Do wish the grand facades of these wonderful old theaters could be restored or at least decluttered. There is so much emphasis on lights, noise, action, on the New York streetscape, it all blends together and, I think, is somehow less effective for that.

[southcalder]

Wow, a truly phenomenal effort by all involved, and truly a marvel of Engineering. It’s stuff like this that makes me proud to be an Engineer.

[benjaminromberg]

Kudos to the workers who did a fantastic job raising this historical site by not just a few feet but 3 stories, this venue can now continue entertaining people for another hundred years, like a fine wine the older it gets, the better!