Martin Horn: Charlottesville Construction Firm

The opening of the Charlottesville Pavilion, now known as the Ting Pavilion, is a testament to grit, determination, and a touch of chaos. The deadline was a public goal, broadcasted on the news every night, and failure was not an option. Leading the charge was the now-retired Superintendent Tim Patronik, who, along with Clarence Mowbray, set smaller, crucial goals for the team, suppliers, and subcontractors. Pour dates, delivery dates, and interim deadlines like electrical service were as important as the grand opening night. Tim ensured everyone bought into this concept, giving the team a fighting chance to be ready.

Jack made this vision clear from the top down. Despite skeptics claiming it couldn’t be done, the team pulled through. A month before opening, reporter Waldo Jaquith wrote, “Our contractors have to keep it in high gear, and they say they’re going to have it ready by July 30-- or even a few days early,” said Kirby Hutto, Charlottesville Pavilion general manager.

The steel for the pavilion was made in Canada, the fabric in Italy, and it was hung by Hungarian alpinists. Next door, the Transit Center was being built, and the two sites overlapped. The summer was hot and dry, with occasional torrential thunderstorms. A microburst, (a term we learned when one ripped the front canopy), was just one of many challenges.

A dry run, set for a few days before the grand opening show, featured Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe as the first band to play on the stage. As of lunchtime that day, safety rails were still not installed, and the sod had just been delivered. Despite these hurdles, we completed all remaining work and received our Certificate of Occupancy at 5 pm on the day of the show. The sense of pride and relief was immense as we celebrated achieving our goal against all odds. Three days later, on July 30, the pavilion hosted the grand opening: a joint appearance from Loretta Lynn and Sissy Spacek, as a special benefit for Live Arts.

The time-lapse video is a classic, showing the determination and audacity to succeed. You can see where we had to switch the front arch because it was backward and where that terrible storm ripped the fabric. The video captures the essence of our refusal to fail.

The Riverfront Amphitheater in Richmond is a much more organized beast, like a company that has done this before. There is no fabric roof over this one. Instead of Jack, Tim, and Clarence, we now have a collaborative Martin Horn & Conquest, Moncure & Dunn (CMD) team: Jon, JB (CMD), Rusty (CMD), Even, and Lance. We have a lot of faith in the project team to ensure this one gets done on time, too.

Hopefully, this time, we’ll only have to put the roof on once.

Written by: Ted Horn, Hannah Stevens

Stories collected from: Tim Patronik (Retired), Jack Horn, Ted Horn