Community, Arts and Culture

Though not visible from the street, the building’s lowest level is perhaps the most used—and the level that sustained the most damage from the water main break. Total devastation effectively gave restoration planners a clean slate, with the opportunity to reconceive the space based on nearly fifty years of use as well as a broad vision for the future. Guided by an array of experts including theater consultants, musicians, acousticians, and program and community directors, an impressive, nearly half city block is dedicated to a Center for Community, Arts and Culture.

This Center will be a dynamic public space—a limited resource in Midtown—that will expand and enable a rich array of programs and resources: from rehearsal spaces for musicians, to breakout rooms for community service programming, to performance spaces for small and large ensembles, to a flexible theater for plays, recitals, readings, and presentations. ESL (English as a Second Language) classes and immigration clinics will be as at home here as jazz musicians have been for decades. Theater and dance groups will have an array of resources for production, just as interfaith and non-religious events will be able to take shape.

Architecturally, this Center for Community, Arts and Culture will mirror the upper levels, providing a welcoming and functional atmosphere.