Work underway on Colonial Fox Theatre facade - KOAM TV 7

Workers restoring the Colonial Fox Theatre Foundation in Pittsburg say a new phase has begun in the project.

Currently the front area of the theatre is being restored, including the ticket booth.  The booth is covered with 12 layers of paint obscuring some of the detailed plaster work underneath.  Workers are now removing all of the paint that's accumulated over generations.

They also demolished the old heating and cooling system and hope to install a new one soon.

"We won't have any heating or air conditioning so that's a huge, huge piece of what we need to do in the next phase, before we can get audiences in here to get comfortable," says Sarah Jensen, the Public Relations and Marketing Director for the Colonial Fox Foundation.

The theatre restoration group hopes to at least have small audiences for events by April and says it has invested a total of about $1.5 million in the project.  An organizer estimates the restoration will require another $5 million.