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The photo below shows
Hannibal Pianta in his shop with the model for a panel that appears at house left and right near the
ceiling in the Empire Theatre. This image is a scan of a photo that was taken in 1913. This is in the
studio at 509 Leal St., in San Antonio, Texas. Click
here to see one of these
panels as they appear after the restoration in 1997. Or, other views are at these pages:
big view
before restoration, in the third photo
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The next image is a scan of a photo that was taken in 1913. These are castings produced at the shop at
509 Leal St., and they are ready for shipping and installation at The Empire
Theatre. These pieces are about 20" tall by 66" wide. These faces and the eggs are huge. The eggs appear at
house left and right in the first balcony. The faces appear, alternating, in a vertical band that
surrounds the box seats at both sides of the theatre.
Click here to see a large view of these
as they appear after the 1997 restoration.
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I was priviledged
to work with these ornaments during the Empire Restoration in 1992, and again in 1997. In 92, I removed
the face, (Bacchus, lower face in image above), and adjoining cornucopias, restored and refined it
slightly, produced a flexible mold, and then cast (in cement) and installed these pieces over the front
doors at the St. Marys St. entry. Click
here to see these.
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In 97, I removed three of these alternating panels at each side of the theatre. Structural iron was
welded to the beams behind this area for a speaker system. Then the panels were reinstalled, after
producing molds to replace any damaged areas. You can see a view of part of this area if you will
click here.
Or, other views
can be found on these pages:
Bacchus
lower photo at this page
click above to go to
table of contents