Midcentury Theater Preservation: A Tale of Drama

The Ats United Center in Fort Wayne in Indiana is a globally recognized architectural icon, attracting visitors from around the world. It comes under consideration due to the age of world-renowned auditoriums. These grand stages either face demolition or the careful craftsmanship of architectural conservation teams.

Numerous mid-century modern theaters have undergone revamps or have had add-ons over the course of the last eight years. This list includes venues like David Geffen Hall of the Lincoln Center in New York City, Meredith J. Long Theatre Center in Houston, the Music Center in Los Angeles, and the Music Pavilion at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Crest Theatre takes the center stage among the upcoming projects for mid-century theater restorations. The historical theater that once housed movies and performing arts in Los Angeles’s Westwood neighborhood is now the UCLA Nimoy Theater, thanks to the conservation and modernization efforts of Page & Turnbull.

The restoration proposals for the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Kalita Humphreys Theater in Dallas also have raised many eyebrows. A $300 million “surgical restoration” and “selective reconstruction” of the 1959 constructed building have been suggested. The building is Wright’s only theater commission. The Louis Kahn-designed Arts United Center in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana, is also on the spot for an imminent expansion and modernization.

The history of the Arts United Center goes back to the late 1950s. The Fine Arts Foundation sought a new home downtown for arts in Indiana’s second-largest city, Fort Wayne. Louis I. Kahn, one of the most influential architects of the 20th Century, was drafted in for designing the Arts United Center. The theater, which opened in 1973, goes down in history as Kahn’s last creation, his only performing arts center, his solitary project in the Midwest, and his final grand opening. Over the years, the Arts United Center has gained a reputation as a Fort Wayne civic jewel and an architectural gem.

In October 2023, Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne launched a public phase as part of their $40 million capital campaign. The campaign aims at enhancing and expanding the Arts United Center, with groundbreaking set for June 2024.

The restoration entails numerous challenges. These challenges range from the revivification and expansion of the rehearsals studios to modernizing the technical, event production capabilities, and facility’s design aspects. With the theater built before the advent of the Americans with Disabilities Act and retaining half a century old infrastructure, addressing these issues in a respectful manner is a task for MKM architecture + design.

Inside modifications will be respectful while addressing environmental efficiency, upgraded amenities, and accessibility needs. Major changes include utilizing passenger and service elevators and adding family restrooms on the east and west sides.

Upon reopening in fall 2025, spectators may notice similarities in the restoration proposals for the Kalita Humphreys and successful renovations at the Arts United Center. The modernization is meticulous and remains faithful to the design legacy left by a behemoth of the architectural discipline.