"It's magical:" The Pabst Theater's chandelier gets a thorough cleaning

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- It's certainly a sight to see, coming face to face with the Pabst Theater's chandelier. That's why Sandra Wicker has spent the last five years taking vacation days from work to help clean this Milwaukee treasure.

"Instead of sitting in the sun I'm sitting in the rainbows," said Wicker.

Once a year, the 16 foot tall and nearly one and a half ton chandelier is carefully lowered.

"We literally hand crank the chandelier down 68 feet from the top of the ceiling all the way down," said Pabst Theater Group PR Director Andy Nelson.

Over a two-day period each of the 33,000 crystals is cleaned and polished by the hands of volunteers like Wicker.

"It's magical, it really is because as you are rubbing and cleaning that crystal the one right next to it you can go like oh my gosh the difference it's just amazing," said Wicker.

The Pabst Theater was built back in 1895, making it the fourth oldest active theater in the United States.

In 1976, the chandelier arrived in Milwaukee shortly after the Pabst Theater was saved from demolition.

"Luckily, the city saved it at that time and they decided to bring it back to its original opulent look. So they purchased this grand chandelier from Austria," said Nelson.

It's this tender loving care that keeps the Pabst Theater thriving more than a century after making its mark in this great city.

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