Anyone looking up to the Gods in Chester city centre will see our brand new £37m cultural centre Storyhouse announcing its arrival.

Cranes in Hunter Street have lifted workmen and a sign to the top of the fly tower on the modern extension attached to the grade II-listed art deco building.

Facing the ring road, it will act as a giant advert for the cultural centre which will also house books from the city’s main library, which has now closed.

A second sign has gone up on Storyhouse and white vertical and parallel light strips reminiscient of how the Odeon used to look.

When the first sign went up above the main entrance in February the operation sparked excitement with onlookers stopping to watch a piece of history in the making.

Vertical and parallel white strip lights have since been added in a nod to how the former Odeon used to look, albeit the lighting was originally in red and later blue neon. Eventually there will be a third sign above the main canopy.

The Odeon opened more than 80 years ago on October 3, 1936, when the invited audience included Mr and Mrs Oscar Deutsch, the founder of Odeon Cinemas, film star Douglas Fairbanks Junior, The Jack Payne Band, the mayor and the architects.

A second sign has gone up on Storyhouse and white vertical and parallel light strips reminiscient of how the Odeon used to look.

Details of the grand opening of Storyhouse have so far been kept under wraps. But it takes place next month and the first production is The Beggar’s Opera, a musical whose first night has already sold out before the curtain goes up on May 11.

It will be followed by adaptations of Alice in Wonderland, Shakespeare’s romantic comedy A Midsummer’s Night Dream and brutal political thriller Julius Caesar.

Chester Library is now closed as books are moved across to Storyhouse ready for the grand opening on May 11.

The building incorporates an 800-seat main auditorium, a studio theatre, a single screen cinema, the library, café and bar.

CEO of Storyhouse Andrew Bentley said: “We’re delighted with the response to the opening season: the excitement about Storyhouse is palpable. We are really looking forward to finally welcoming the audience inside and sharing the building with them. Experiencing a venue’s inaugural opening night is a rare opportunity – it’s very, very exciting.”