Official records said the wood floor was gone, but Barbara Ockel isn't one to take much at face value. In March 2010 Ockel, interim managing director at the Bayview Opera House, inspected a crawlspace underneath the venue's stage. With a flashlight, she spied planks of a 122-year-old, 3,000-square-foot Douglas fir floor that records showed to have been ripped out and replaced with linoleum. Turns out it was just covered up. In July she oversaw a $197,000 restoration at the concert hall, which included returning the wood floor to its former golden glory. "Removing that old floor, you can't even imagine-it's like the building breathes a sigh of relief," Ockel told SF Weekly. With the floor restored, Ockel is now working to make the opera house an entertainment destination once again. She hopes to revitalize the opera house and bring with it the long-neglected surrounding area.
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Official records said the wood floor was gone, but Barbara Ockel isn't one to take much at face value. In March 2010 Ockel, interim managing director at the Bayview Opera House, inspected a crawlspace underneath the venue's stage. With a flashlight, she spied planks of a 122-year-old, 3,000-square-foot Douglas fir floor that records showed to have been ripped out and replaced with linoleum. Turns out it was just covered up. In July she oversaw a $197,000 restoration at the concert hall, which included returning the wood floor to its former golden glory. "Removing that old floor, you can't even imagine-it's like the building breathes a sigh of relief," Ockel told SF Weekly. With the floor restored, Ockel is now working to make the opera house an entertainment destination once again. She hopes to revitalize the opera house and bring with it the long-neglected surrounding area.
See a video about the restoration below and read the full story at SF Weekly.
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