Cinema debuts anew in Dedham Square

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DEDHAM — .With a dramatic flourish, the Dedham Community Theatre revealed its new marquee Friday night, lighting up High Street with a sign that owner Paul McMurtry said he hoped would be the "symbol of revitalization and economic vitality for all of Dedham for many decades to come."

 

A couple hundred people gathered in bitter cold weather for the unveiling. At 6:23 p.m. Dedham Square Circle President Peter Reynolds flicked a giant red light switch, lighting up the new marquee to great cheers as confetti shot in the air.

The nonprofit Dedham Square Circle raised $60,000 for the revamped marquee, the first major project of its sign and facade improvement program for downtown businesses.

 

The marquee is built in the same classic Federal Revival style as the 81-year-old theater, with four urns spaced along its front. It also features bright red lights on its borders, flashing white lights along its bottom - and, in a nod to the future, uses 2,300 light-emitting diodes.

 

The marquee drew high praise Friday night.Whitley Frost of Hyde Park said she liked its brightness and the Art Deco look.

 

"I love that it's in keeping with the old one" and its incandescent yellow lights, said Frost, who was at the unveiling with her 2-year-old daughter, Lilah.

 

Frost said she uses the marquee as a reference point when giving directions to her Hyde Park home.

"We tell people when they get to Dedham center to look for the Dedham Community Theatre sign. It just stands out," she said.

 

What's more, Frost said, the square and its theater are "a big draw" for why she'd like to one day move to Dedham.

"Any community that has this type of square is lucky in this day and age," she said.