PECO Energizes RPAC with $1 Million Gift
Kimmel Center Plaza Café Dedicated to PECO
November 16, 2000
In a bright display of support for the arts, PECO Energy Company has announced a $1 million gift to the Regional Performing Arts Center's Capital Campaign which supports the construction of the new Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Center City, Philadelphia. The $1 million gift brings RPAC's Capital Campaign to $238 million, nearly 94% of the $255 million goal.
In recognition of this gift, the Plaza Café at The Kimmel Center will be dedicated to PECO Energy. The Kimmel Center, currently under construction at Broad and Spruce Streets on the Avenue of the Arts, will be the new home of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and will open to the public in December 2001.
PECO Energy President Ken Lawrence and Exelon Corporation Co-CEO and President John W. Rowe, presented RPAC with a lighted cake in the shape of a musical instrument today at the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue in Philadelphia. "The Kimmel Center is unlike anything the Philadelphia area has ever seen, and PECO Energy and Exelon are delighted to demonstrate our continued commitment to the Philadelphia region with this first major contribution since our merger with Unicom last month," said Lawrence.
"We are wonderfully charged to accept this gift from PECO Energy Company, whose long, thoughtful and luminous history of support for the arts is a real inspiration," beamed Stephanie Naidoff, RPAC president. "The Plaza Café is certain to be a can't-miss destination for dining and gathering, housed beneath the great glass dome of The Kimmel Center, amidst Philadelphia's sparkling skyline!"
In another demonstration of cultural support, PECO Energy Company is sponsoring a special live broadcast of The Philadelphia Orchestra's 100th Anniversary concert at the Academy of Music on WHYY-TV 12 this evening (November 16).
"Today -- just one year and one month before the grand and eagerly awaited opening of The Kimmel Center, and on the 100th Anniversary of the first performance of Philadelphia's beloved Orchestra -- PECO Energy is lighting the way for our two cultural institutions," says Naidoff. "PECO has always distinguished itself with support for the arts and culture, and continues that legacy today."
Opening in December 2001, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts will join the Academy of Music in forming the Regional Performing Arts Center (RPAC). RPAC will be home to seven of Philadelphia's premier ensembles: The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Ballet, American Theater Arts for Youth, Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra, PHILADANCO, and The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Now under construction, the Rafael Viñoly-designed Kimmel Center will include the 2,500-seat Verizon Theater -- future home of The Philadelphia Orchestra-and the 650-seat Perelman Theater.
PECO Energy is a utility services firm that delivers electricity to 1.5 million customers and 425,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. PECO is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, formed by the merger of PECO Energy and Unicom. PECO and ComEd, its sister utility in the Chicago area, serve five million customers, the largest customer base for any U.S. electric utility.
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