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[ photos by Val Renner, provided by the Akron Civic Theatre ]
Marcus Loew saw potential in a boarded-up building along Main Street known as the “Gateway to Nowhere” in 1926. Now that spot, the Akron Civic Theatre, one of Loew’s few grand theaters left in existence, is the centerpiece of Akron’s biggest renaissance yet.
“We feel like we’re an anchor to that resurgence,” says executive director Howard Parr. “It’s about the entire facility and how it can be maximized in terms of its value and impact on the community.”
The Civic itself underwent a major transformation with the completion of a $9 million capital campaign to add new performance spaces and renovate parts of the 1929 theater (the auditorium was redone in 2001), which was designed by acclaimed architect John Eberson in the style of a Moorish castle. The most dramatic of the improvements are seen in the entrance arcade, which had lost its luster with faded paint and dulled plaster.
Unexpectedly, Akron-based Thomarios removed varnish from wall tiles and uncovered the original colors — green, light yellow and orange — and hand-painted those colors on all of them. On the ceiling, the design only remained in one section, so restorers hand-painted the other patterns back on using a locally made stencil. Antique European armor and weapons were restored by an Akron auto body shop.
All of the opulent chandeliers in the arcade, as well as the grand lobby, were sent to a restoration company and made brighter with new energy-efficient bulbs. While the original shades weren’t able to be recovered, the light sticks on the grand staircase, which is modeled after the Paris Opera House staircase, got sparkly new flame-shaped glass torchieres.
“We always get people saying it’s so dark,” says Val Renner, associate director of programming, media and marketing. “This is the brightest I’ve ever seen this place.”
In the grand lobby, Thomarios restored the patterned ceiling and wall accents, and for the first time since 1929, Cleveland-based ICA Art Conservation restored the Michelangelo Studios mural hanging over the entrance doors that pictures Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado.
Cleveland-based Welty Building Co. demoed the adjacent J.P. Whitelaw building down to its walls, kept an original mural advertising Summit Old Rye Whiskey to pay homage to its roots as an 1800s liquor warehouse and turned it into the sleek Knight Stage. Now, find crisp white walls, contemporary orb pendant lights, large photos of famous Akron musicians, a stage with state-of-the-art audio and lighting and a balcony that morphs from a standing to sitting area.
“This is a great new venue,” Parr says. “It’s exactly what we envisioned — a 200-capacity event space that’s completely flexible.”
It swings to host local and national concerts, comedy, theater and community events. The intimate cabaret shows the Civic previously hosted on its stage are moving to Knight Stage, as are the Civic’s Millennial Theatre Project and Boom Theater, a new troupe Renner helped launch for older adults.
Another welcome addition is more bathrooms at the Knight Stage and on the lower level next to modern new staff offices, which were previously crammed in the nearby Summit County building. Throughout that level, find vintage posters advertising killer Civic concerts like James Gang and Rush opening for Kiss. Below that, find a 60-person venue that leads out to Lock 4 and is called Wild Oscar’s after a previous Civic organ player.
“In the ‘60s, everybody compared him to Liberace. He went wild on the organ,” says Renner. “It warranted itself to a really interesting vibe down here — like a little speakeasy.”
Find poetry slams, singer-songwriters and comedy in Wild Oscar’s, which is complete with a terrace overlooking the Ohio & Erie Canal and a rustic wall made of sandstone blocks from the canal. It will house a mural that’s one of six installed as part of the renovations, including the massive one by Los Angeles artists El Mac and Aiseborn in Lock 4.
More art will get added to a 1,300-square-foot deck, creating a south Civic entrance connected to Main Street. When it’s finished soon, attend Party on the Patio events on Fridays. That side of the building will serve as an 18-by-30-foot video projection wall showing muted feeds of performances and rehearsals inside the Civic, local art, silent movies and more.
“Everybody who doesn’t enter was seeing a not very attractive exterior. The idea was to … make the asset be the outside of the building as much as the inside,” Parr says. “We still want the Civic to be something that is positive for them in terms of their experience downtown.”
See the evolution yourself during the grand reopening Aug. 9 to 15, with a gala Aug. 14 and a free community day Aug. 15. With Lock 3 set to undergo an estimated $10 million dollar makeover and the Civic’s impressive fresh campus, the 100th block of Main Street is now the gateway to a reinvigorated downtown.
“That is the beginning of a new era for downtown,” Parr says. “We’re gonna see a lot more activity on a year-round and ongoing basis.” akroncivic.com
