Re:  'Besides which, he and his crew are the new "spirit of the old Ed
Sullivan theater"...what made its rehab possible.'  "Ed MacMahon" (???)
asks, Please, give us the story behind the story here.

All I meant to offer is the phiosophical approach taken in addressing
change to a historic structure subject to the Standards for the Treatment
of Historic Properties, specifically the Standards for Rehabilitation,
when, if you look too close at any one area, expecting to see preservation
or restoration, but instead you see change ("alterations" and "additions"
in the definition of Rehabilitation), you may be disappointed.  If a
property requires rehabilitation to assure its survival, and after passing
all of the tests represented in Standards 1 through 8, you come to Standard
9 and 10 which address the changes.  (I assume no one here lacks a copy of
the Standards.)  So, for my own conveniece I use the term "spirit" of the
rehabilitation to help answer Standards 9 and 10.  It's a parallel, I
guess, to the term "character" as applied to the existing property.  If you
don't agree with the program, use, or sense of historical development (I
say, "spirit") of the rehabilitation, you're probably going to have trouble
with the way the historic character is impacted.  And conversely, if you
can accept the spirit of the rehabilitation, you are more likely to
understand and accept compatable changes which, as I stated, " made its
rehab possible".

I'm sure we all have examples of "good spirited", "mean spirited", and
"spiritless" rehabs; and I'm also sure we won't agree on the examples.  But
in order to keep up my tax shelter for the "Church of the Holy
Restoration", I have to use terms like "spirit", and "goodness".  Forgive
me.  --The Rev. Jim