29 BR - "Slow and steady"

Such are the words of Daniel, the man in charge of so much at the Ritz he might as well be building the thing himself. I should point out that "slow" does not mean that things are progressing slowly. Since the vast majority of major construction is complete, the building process right now concerns a lot of little, less noticable things. So when I walk in, I'm not immediately struck with how much has been done. Once I've been looking around, however, it becomes clear.

Amongst the most notable: When I walked up to Theater 2, it was dark and there was a complete absence of the signs of construction - no ladders, no scaffolding, equipment or supplies or even people. I think I did see a fan, though. So I asked Daniel if it was done. He said, "Pretty much." Yeah, it needs wall covering, seats (which are apparently arriving this week), a screen and other projection related equipment. But it is almost complete. Theater 1 is rapidly approaching the same status as I saw guys up on scaffolding installing the last of the ceiling right in front of the screen.

The elevator is almost done, as well. Daniel told me he took a ride in it, and I did see elevator doors at every level and a couple of guys working on the car. As for the kitchen, it looks like we're just waiting on equipment: The floor has been completed and the walk-in coolers are installed. We've even got some of the permanent light fixtures operating in different parts of the theater (ladies room and stairs so far)!

It is getting close, folks. While there has not been an official announcement concerning an opening date, there is an Alamo ad for the film "The District" which proclaims, "Coming in November to the Ritz." Of course, that is no guarantee of anything, but it is the first official ad for Ritz programming. As uncommitted as it comes across, it is still a good and encouraging sign that opening day is just around the corner.