Regional Performing Arts Center: A two-facility complex with three performance venues on Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts
December 11, 2000
When it opens on December 16th, 2001, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts will join the venerable Academy of Music in forming the Regional Performing Arts Center (RPAC), sure to be among the largest and most ambitious organizations of its kind in the country. Under the leadership of Chairman Willard G. Rouse, III and President Stephanie W. Naidoff, RPAC will serve as home and host to seven of Philadelphia's most accomplished and internationally acclaimed arts organizations:
- Philadelphia Orchestra
- Opera Company of Philadelphia
- Pennsylvania Ballet
- American Theater Arts for Youth
- Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra
- Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
- PHILADANCO
In December, 2001, this Rafael Viñoly-designed masterwork will be an architectural and cultural landmark. Under the spectacular glass-vaulted roof towering more than 150 feet above street level, this world-class facility will house Verizon Hall and Perelman Theater.
Verizon Hall Statistics:
- State-of-the-art concert hall
- New home of the Philadelphia Orchestra
- 2,500 Seats, including 250 seats behind the stage:
- Main Level - approx. 1000 seats
- Balconies (three tiers): Tier 1 - approx. 600 seats; Tier 2 - approx. 400 seats; Tier 3 - approx. 500 seats
- Full-height reverberation chambers to control and enhance acoustics in the hall based on the type of performance
- Three-piece adjustable acoustic ceiling canopy
- A cello-shaped hall that allows for optimum acoustics and visibility
- Multi-use, technologically advanced recital hall and theater
- New home to American Theater Arts for Youth, Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra, PHILADANCO, and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
- 650 Seats: Main Level - 362 seats; Balconies (two tiers): Tier 1 - 128 seats; Tier 2 - 160 seats
- A 75-foot-diameter turntable stage instantly transforms Perelman Theater from an intimate recital hall with an outstanding acoustic system -- perfect for chamber groups and small orchestra ensembles -- to a dramatic performance space featuring a complete flyloft and deep stage, capable of supporting mid-sized theatrical productions and dance performances
- Floor-level seats retract to accommodate seating for cabaret and dinner theater as well as experimental performances
- Orchestra pit
- Full flyloft (80 feet high) with 78 line sets
- 150-seat studio and rehearsal space
- Merck Arts Education Center
- Rooftop Terrace
- Commonwealth Plaza, an all-weather town square
- Café and Restaurant
- Gift shop and other amenities
Both Verizon Hall and Perelman Theater will be ADA compliant and fully accessible to patrons, guests, and artists with disabilities.
Some Details:
- Located on a 2.3-acre site on the southwest corner of Broad and Spruce Streets in Center City Philadelphia
- The Kimmel Center is easily accessible via public transportation and from a network of highways
- The Kimmel Center will comprise 450,000 square feet
- A total project cost of $255 million (with a $10 million endowment) includes a $157 milion construction budget.
- Rafael Viñoly, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC, Architect
- Russell Johnson, Artec Consultants, Inc., Acoustician
- Richard Pilbrow, Theatre Projects Consultants, Theater Designer
Broad and Locust Streets
Completed in 1857, Philadelphia's Academy of Music is both a celebrated historical landmark and a contemporary focus of cultural life in the city. It is the oldest purpose-built opera house in the United States, and remains a preeminent venue for opera.
Since its opening, the Academy has been home to watershed events such as the American premiere of Faust, and performances by Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Rachmaninoff, Saint-Saëns, Mahler, and many other now-legendary figures. Puccini is known to have attended a performance of Madame Butterfly at the Academy, starring Caruso and Farrar.
Under RPAC, The Academy of Music will be:
- Home of the Opera Company of Philadelphia
- Home of the Pennsylvania Ballet
- Host to major Broadway productions
- Host to other major stars who currently bypass Philadelphia for lack of an appropriate and available venue.
- 2,897 Seats
- Main Level - 1283 seats
- Balconies (three tiers): Balcony - 524 seats; Family Circle - 561 seats; Amphitheatre - 529 seats
- Full Orchestra Pit
- Full flyloft with 76 line sets
Inspired by the design of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, the Ballroom (capacity 350) will continue to be used for private, social and civic functions.
Accessibility
The Academy of Music is ADA compliant and accessible to patrons, guests, and artists with disabilities.
Some Details:
- Located at Broad and Locust Streets, the Academy of Music's opulent interior is further enriched by the magnificent crystal chandelier 50 feet in circumference, 16 feet in diameter, and 5,000 pounds in weight. Although electrified in 1900, the chandelier originally had 240 gas burners. In 1957, it was rewired and fitted with an electric-powered winch that allowed it to be lowered in five minutes, rather than requiring four hours and 12 people to lower it by hand.
- Numerous Presidents have visited the Academy of Music. In this hall, Ulysses S. Grant was nominated for his second term of office in 1872. President Grover Cleveland held his wedding dinner in the auditorium in 1886; a special wooden floor was placed over the parquet seats, allowing 1,500 guests to dine, dance, and celebrate with the President and his new bride. The wooden floor was again installed in 1889 for the first indoor football game in Philadelphia, between the University of Pennsylvania and the Riverton Club of Princeton.
- The Academy of Music comprises 130,000 square feet in total. /ul> 130,000 Square feet in total.
The Project for the 21st Century, a $30-plus million renovation, is currently underway, and involves major structural and acoustical improvements, backstage modernization, and improved audience services.
Architects:
Napoleon Le Brun & Gustavus Runge
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