It may not have won the affections of Cork people the way its elegant predecessor did, but the new Cork Opera House may still become the subject of sepia-tinted nostalgia thanks to the latest stage in its reincarnation.
Once grimly grey and worthy of some grand Stalinist design, it has already had its bleak north wall enlivened with the introduction of elbow windows tastefully framed at night by an elegant blue neon.
And now arguably the ugliest blot on Cork's urban landscape is about to undergo its most dramatic makeover. Demolition work has begun on the radiator-like frontage of angular glass and concrete, to be replaced by a more curvaceous frontage.
"Gloriously pregnant," was how the Opera House chairman, Charlie Hennessy, first described Ralph Bingham's ambitious bow-front design which will swell out some six metres into the newly-paved and pedestrianised Emmet Place.
Mr Ralph's design will not only improve the external aesthetics of the building but will increase public areas inside the opera house, including the foyer, which was too restrictive for the bars to realise their potential.
The bars are also about to swell - or rather curve - to reflect the shape of the auditorium, which will see capacity increased from 1,200 to 1,500 for the type of stand-up events and concerts which the theatre hopes to attract.
The project, which will bring total investment in Cork Opera House since 1994 to £6 million, has received the backing of Cork Corporation's Millennium Committee. According to the opera manager, Gerry Barnes, the work will be completed by October.
The redesign will also complement the development of the adjacent Crawford Gallery and Emmet Place, with its imported granite pavings from China.