The dismantling of scaffolding on one of the town’s major landmarks, the Civic Theatre, commenced early Monday morning.

And, there’s certainly a buzz around town as people stop to take photos and enjoy the elegant art deco façade in all its former glory.

Andrew McPhee of McPhee Building said the entire façade will be revealed by the end of the week, with the scaffolding being removed down to the awning level.

After years of extensive planning and research the full restoration of the facade is now complete, featuring high quality finishings based on the theatre’s original colour scheme and neon lighting.

“We had a paint chemist come up from the Wattyl laboratory in Sydney to justify the paint scrapings on the theatre to reveal the original colours,” Mr McPhee said. “He took 46 samples back to the laboratory and matched them to a colour atlas. In addition, advice was sought from Katrina Hill, colour consultant and designer.

“The neon colours are also authentic; as the original dilapidated neon tubes were removed and their positions on the theatre recorded. They were then tested by a neon specialist to verify the original colours of the glass tubing.

“It’s 100 per cent spot on.”

Mr McPhee said the next step is to continue restoration work on the remains of the landmark’s exterior.

“The paintwork is finished back 7 metres on the southern side and 16 metres on the northern side,” he said.

“So the scaffold will be erected around the remainder of the theatre.”

By the end of the week it’s hoped iron will be put on the awning, which will then see lining and timber mouldings installed to the underside.

The remainder of exterior painting will then be completed before works can commence inside, a process which is expected to take five to six weeks.

“After that the entire scaffold will be removed from the footpath as well as the concrete barriers on the road,” Mr McPhee said.

“As soon as we get the roof, rendering, new fascia and guttering done we can get rid of the scaffold and then the entire area of the theatre gets concreted all to wheelchair and elderly access standards.”

In the early days, the theatre was seen as a sign of progress for Scone.

The restoration has been a labour a love for many years for owner Professor Minas Coroneo AO and his wife Hellene.

The former Scone boy came up with the idea to turn the heritage listed site into a multifunction centre to host conventions, weddings and live entertainment while retaining the original purpose of the Civic.

That vision is now coming closer and closer to fruition, with the rumour around town that the neon lights will once again shine in a blaze of glory on Saturday evening.