And look — all it took was a little uh, clearance from the city. You can see the working arm of the excavator inside what used to be the innards of the DeLuxe Theater at 3300 Lyons Ave. in this photo from this morning sent to Swamplot by a reader. Long the focus of various repurposing plans, the shell now appears ready for its latest renovation project.

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The structure served the Fifth Ward community in several incarnations: from 1941 as a movie theater, from 1971 as an art gallery, and from 1973 as a vacant streamline moderne building with a feline facade, patiently awaiting reinvention. The city purchased the building in 2009.

• Previously on Swamplot: The DeLuxe Theater’s Next Act: Fifth Ward Zydeco Library, DeLuxe Theater Breakaway Sculptors: All They Want for Christmas Is Some 117 Siding

Photos: Swamplot inbox (current); Deluxetheater.org (art gallery)