Cleveland’s Allen Theatre opened in 1921 as a 3,080-seat movie house. It was spared from the wrecking ball in the 1970s. In the late 1990s it underwent a renovation that reduced the number of seats to 2,500, and it reopened in 1998 as a venue for live theatre. By 2010, it was marginally utilized, a victim of changes in the entertainment industry and the national economic downturn.
The reconstruction of the Allen Theatre was made possible by a unique collaboration among three organizations: the Cleveland Play House and Cleveland State University, each of which needed to build new performance facilities; and Cleveland’s PlayhouseSquare, the second-largest theatre district in the country (after New York’s Lincoln Center) and the largest total historic theatre district in history, with 10 renovated, reconstructed, and new insertion venues.
PROJECT SUMMARY
ALLEN THEATRE AT PLAYHOUSESQUARE
Cleveland, OhioBuilding Team
Submitting Firm: Westlake Reed Leskosky (architect, engineer)
Acoustician: Talaske and Associates
Construction manager: Turner Construction Co.General Information
Size: 81,500 sf (renovation), 44,000 sf (addition)
Construction cost: $30 million
Construction time: August 2010 to December 2011(Phase I) and January 2012 (Phase II)
Delivery method: CM with GMP
All three entities were clients of local architecture firm Westlake Reed Leskosky, which brought them together to fulfill their professional and educational agendas. WRL provided all architectural and engineering services, with Talaske and Associates as acoustician and Turner Construction Company as construction manager.
The $30 million project resulted in three new theatres in the existing 81,500-sf space and a 44,000-sf contiguous addition: the Allen Theatre, the Second Stage, and the Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre.
The Allen Theatre was transformed into a 512-seat proscenium stage theatre. The space was downsized to improve acoustics and allow for vocal clarity without the need for amplification. New sidewalls featuring scrims of perforated metal were constructed, designed to reflect sound to patrons in and under the balcony. The area under the balcony was redeveloped into a lounge and pre-show events space.
The Second Stage is a transitional space that flexibly seats up to 348 and is equipped with seating wagons that can transform the stage area into multiple configurations. The Helen is a 150-seat black-box theatre for smaller performances and educational programs.
All three theatres were up and running by this past January. With the addition of these new venues, PlayhouseSquare expects at least 150,000 additional guests to patronize the renovated theatre district each year. +
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Apr 26, 2017
Huh? A subway car on the roof?
Chicago’s newest multifamily development features an iconic CTA car on its amenity deck.
High-rise Construction | Apr 26, 2017
Dubai’s newest building is a giant gilded picture frame
Despite currently being under construction, the building is the center of an ongoing lawsuit filed by the architect.
Architects | Apr 25, 2017
Two Mid-Atlantic design firms join forces
Quinn Evans Architects and Cho Benn Holback + Associates have similar portfolios with an emphasis on civic work.
BIM and Information Technology | Apr 24, 2017
Reconciling design energy models with real world results
Clark Nexsen’s Brian Turner explores the benefits and challenges of energy modeling and discusses how design firms can implement standards for the highest possible accuracy.
Higher Education | Apr 24, 2017
Small colleges face challenges — and opportunities
Moody’s Investor Service forecasts that closure rates for small institutions will triple in the coming years, and mergers will double.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 24, 2017
Treating the whole person: Designing modern mental health facilities
Mental health issues no longer carry the stigma that they once did. Awareness campaigns and new research have helped bring our understanding of the brain—and how to design for its heath—into the 21st century.
Architects | Apr 20, 2017
Design as a business strategy: Tapping data is easier than you think
We have been preaching “good design matters” for a long time, demonstrating the connection between the physical environment and employee satisfaction, individual and team performance, and an evolving organizational culture.
Architects | Apr 20, 2017
‘Gateways to Chinatown’ project seeks the creation of a new neighborhood landmark for NYC’s Chinatown
The winning team will have $900,000 to design and implement their proposal.
Architects | Apr 19, 2017
Tour Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry architecture with Google Earth
Google Earth’s new ‘Voyager’ feature allows people to take interactive guided tours.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 18, 2017
Three multifamily, three specialized housing projects among 14 recipients of the AIA’s 2017 Housing Awards
2017 marks the 17th year the AIA has rewarded projects and architects with the Housing Awards.