Right now a good portion of the
Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts in downtown Minneapolis is still under construction, but much of the structural work is done.
The $40 million project brings together the Hennepin Center for the Arts and the former Shubert Theater, with a newly constructed atrium connecting the two historic buildings.
It's complementary to the
Hennepin Theatre District, which includes several historic theaters farther down Hennepin Avenue.
Construction at the center started January 2010 and will continue through this summer, while a grand opening is planned for September 2011, according to Troy Linck, a center spokesperson, who adds that its progress is being documented on its website and on social media sites.
The Cowles Center includes a 500-seat theater in the renovated Shubert building and a new Entry Hall, while all kinds of arts programming will continue to operate in the renovated Hennepin Center for the Arts space. "It'll be a diverse experience walking through the three-building campus."
For starters, the historic Shubert theater, which moved from 1st Avenue to Block E over a decade ago, is being fully refurbished. "A lot of stuff needed serious work," he says, including a reconstruction of the balconies.
Although the design is intended to respect the historic structure, because the Shubert was gutted previously, the renovated building will be quite state-of-the-art, he says.
At this point, most of the concrete work in the building is done. "Workers are framing out the walls and sheetrocking as we speak," he says.
Similarly, inside the new lobby and atrium, where the box office will go, "you can get a feel for the space when you go in now, instead of it being a big empty room," he says.
The education center on the second floor of the atrium has a spacious dance studio and rehearsal area that'll be equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Through its distance-learning program, dance experts teach classes that are recorded and streamed to viewers outside the room, live--a feature that's unique to the center. "There really isn't any other program like it," Linck says.
At the same time, a big picture window will offer passersby a view of rehearsals. It's just another way of demonstrating that "dance at the center is living and breathing," he says.
Additionally, offices throughout the Hennepin Center for the Arts part of the complex are undergoing plenty of cosmetic improvements. "Tenants are excited," he says. "The space looks better and everything feels sharpened up."
Source: Troy Linck, spokesperson for the Cowles Center for Dance and Performing Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt