A new bright spot in square

Donations pay for new marquee

Above, workmen remove the old marquee from the Dedham Community Theatre. At left, Selectman Carmen Dello Iacono, who was the project's electrician, and Al Reale and Wayne McNamara (from left) of Peterson Products Inc. of Holbrook, the company that built the new marquee, which has light-emitting diodes. (Dedham Square Circle Photos)

In a sort of modern-day barn-raising, a new marquee at the Dedham Community Theatre will pierce the darkness tomorrow night, the first of potentially many improvements to merchants' signs and facades in the historic downtown area.

What's special about this effort is that the sign was designed and commissioned with $60,000 in donated funds solicited by a community group, the Dedham Square Circle, which is focused on retaining the town's traditional character while boosting its economic base.

"A new marquee won't ensure a big volume of business" in a tough economy, said Amy Haelsen, executive director of the nonprofit Dedham Square Circle. "But it will give the square a needed facelift and send a message that it is safe to invest here."

The project began a year ago under the watchful eyes of Ned Roberts and his wife, Dedham Square Circle vice president Susie McIntosh. Taking the project from concept to working drawings to installation to tomorrow's debut, they devoted countless hours to manage a string of volunteers, engineers, architects, town officials, and others to produce and install the sign made by Peterson Products of Holbrook.

An electrician whose skills have come in handy, Selectman Carmen Dello Iacono wired the sign's light-emitting diodes.

The 1927 theater, owned by state Representative Paul McMurtry, was designed in the Classic Federal Revival style. Over the years, the original marquee was propped up and patched, but never restored.

As workers removed the old to prepare for the new, they saw that the sign, in its many incarnations, was three layers deep.

"It was like an archeological dig 12 feet off the ground," Roberts said.

Independently owned and operated movie theaters are quickly becoming extinct, he added: "Having the theater is one of the special things that makes Dedham Square so unique."

McMurtry, who worked in the theater while in high school, bought the business in 2002 and the building in 2006.

"It was so unique and rare, I wanted to make sure it stayed in Dedham," he said. "We want to hang onto our past and have a sense of community."

McMurtry said he looks forward to the lighting of the new sign. "I have not seen the marquee yet, but I hear it's head-turning."

There'll be plenty off time to see it tomorrow beginning at 6 p.m. at a family-friendly event that includes the Dedham High School marching band, elected officials, a clown, balloon artist, and face painting. A gala marquee party will be held at 7:30 in the theater; tickets are $75, with proceeds going to Dedham Square Circle.

"A healthy, strong downtown is good for everyone," Haelsen said.

Her group hopes to strengthen the area further with its next effort, a streetscape project that will improve sidewalks, install gas lamps, and beautify the general surroundings.

While this is going on, a deluxe movie theater is going into the uber-mall Legacy Place under construction nearby. Haelsen thinks the square can retain its identity and co-exist with the newcomer.

"Their model is a New England downtown," she said of the mall, "but a mile away you have the real thing. There will be thousands of new visitors this summer if we can just woo them to Dedham Square.

"The marquee really belongs to the community," Haelsen went on. "It is like a beacon and it will be the first thing you see."

For more information, go to www.dedhamsquarecircle.com.

Michele Morgan Bolton can be reached at mmbolton1@verizon.net.