YESCO Helps Restore the Hollywood Palladium to Its Former Glory

1/28/09—Hollywood, California

 

In October, 1940, German bombs were falling on London and much of the world was entrenched in war. But in Hollywood, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and its young singer, Frank Sinatra, were delighting crowds at the new Palladium dance and entertainment venue. The Hollywood Palladium quickly became one of the world’s most famous entertainment meccas. It hosted such greats as Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles and Led Zeppelin, and was the home of Grammy and Emmy Award ceremonies, the long-running Lawrence Welk Show, galas for at least five American presidents, and parties for celebrities including Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.

In October, 2007, after 67 years of service, the well-worn Palladium was shuttered and a $20 million renovation was launched.

YESCO has played a key role in revitalizing the venerable venue. Specifically, the company was hired to recreate the Palladium’s distinctive original signs and lighting. To do this,  the YESCO team worked closely with the owner-developer, architect and contractor of the project, pouring over old photos and film clips that showed the Palladium’s signs in their original state. It took nearly four months of meetings and deliberation to finalize the drawings.

The YESCO team, headed by Dave Hargis and Dave Jones of YESCO Los Angeles, designed, engineered, built and installed the Palladium’s new “old” signs and lighting elements. These elements included the front marquee with historic faces, the front grid work (which was covered 10 years after the venue first opened), the distinctive dancing figures, the front blade sign with animated letters, the west marquee and the cove lighting.

“YESCO has done an excellent job,” said Patrick Russell, vice president of development of NCA/Green, the developer of the Palladium project. “They were under a huge time crunch, as we all were. They were able to deliver and meet the deadlines for our opening date. We were very appreciative of their response.”

Jaime Garcia, project manager for the Palladium’s renovation contractor, Morley Construction Company, added, “Working with YESCO has been a good, positive experience. They worked almost 24-7 to meet their deadlines. They definitely stepped up and were proactive in the fabrication and installation, working through the issues that arose. The quality was excellent and installation has been very well organized. They are a very good team of people.” 

Thanks to the extra-mile efforts of many skilled professionals and craftspeople, the Hollywood Palladium has returned to its honored place as Hollywood’s gem of entertainment venues.

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