Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Performing arts center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.

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Ordway Center for
the Performing Arts

Ordway Music Theater (1985–2000)

Address| 345 Washington Street
Location| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Coordinates| 44°56′41″N 93°05′54″W﻿ / ﻿44.9448°N 93.0982°W﻿ / 44.9448; -93.0982
Capacity| Music Theater: 1,900
Concert Hall: 1,093
Construction
Opened| January 1, 1985
Architect| Benjamin C. Thompson
Website
ordway.org

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, hosts a variety of performing arts, such as touring Broadway musicals, orchestra, opera, and cultural performers, and produces local musicals.[1] It is home to several local arts organizations, including the Minnesota Opera, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and The Schubert Club. The president and CEO, Christopher Harrington, has served since November 2021.

## History

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In 1980, Saint Paul resident Sally Ordway Irvine (a 3M heiress and arts patron) dreamed of a European-style concert hall offering "everything from opera to the Russian circus". She contributed $7.5 million—a sum matched by other members of the Ordway family—toward the facility's cost. Fifteen Twin Cities corporations and foundations were the principal funders of the $46 million complex, the most expensive privately funded arts facility ever built in the state. Saint Paul native Benjamin Thompson, whose other projects included the Faneuil Hall renovation in Boston and South Street Seaport in New York, was selected to design a building that would project "a visible contemporary image" but also harmoniously fit on a site facing Rice Park, a block-square park framed by historic buildings. As designed by Thompson, Ordway Center (originally named Ordway Music Theatre) contained a 1,900-seat Music Theater; an intimate McKnight Theatre (306 seats); two large rehearsal rooms; and the Marzitelli Foyer, a spacious two-story lobby with a glass curtain-wall through which theatergoers enjoy a sweeping panorama of Rice Park, its surrounding buildings, and, in the distance, the Mississippi River. The McKnight Theatre was demolished in 2013 to make room for the new 1,093-seat Concert Hall, which opened on February 28, 2015.

The Ordway opened to the public on January 1, 1985, as Ordway Music Theatre. The name was changed in 2000 to reflect the array of performing arts that take place under its roof.

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts serves 400,000 people annually with nearly 500 performances in musical theater, children's theater, world music and dance, orchestra, opera, and recitals.

## About the building

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The Ordway contains the 1,910-seat Music Theater,[2] the 1,100-seat Concert Hall, two large rehearsal halls, and lobbies on each floor, including the second-floor Marzitelli Foyer, a spacious, two-story lobby encircled by a glass facade.

Architect | Benjamin Thompson and Associates

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Contractor | McGough Construction
Building Area | 160,000 square feet (15,000 m2)
Site Area | 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2)
Lobby & Grand Foyer Area | 38,000 square feet (3,500 m2)
Back of House Area | 22,000 square feet (2,000 m2)
Rehearsal Room Area | 4,800 square feet (450 m2)

### Interior

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Woodwork (public areas) | Honduran mahogany

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Original Carpet | Designed by Benjamin Thompson and Associates. 6,000 square yards, manufactured by Mohawk Mills, Greenville, Mississippi
Lobby Tile | Imported from Wales, United Kingdom
Chandeliers | Twelve total: handcrafted chimneys from West Virginia; brass bases from Winona Studio Lighting, Winona, Minnesota
Lobby & Grand Foyer Area | 38,000 square feet (3,500 m2)

### Exterior

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Main Façade | Copper-clad exterior window and fascia system, with more than 500 insulated glass panels.

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Brickwork | Handmade brick by Kane Gonic Brickworks of Gonic, New Hampshire. Each brick has variation in color and texture for a rich, handcrafted texture.
Brick pattern | Flemish bond. Pattern: Two “stretchers” laid lengthwise, one “header” laid crosswise.

## References

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1. ^ "Ordway Announces 2019–2020 Broadway Series - The Ordway Official Website". ordway.org. Archived from the original on 2019-07-13.
2. ^ Out, Bust. "Venue Rentals". Ordway. Retrieved 2022-06-01.

## External links

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* Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

* v
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Music venues of Minnesota

Outdoor|

* Bluestem Amphitheater
* CHS Field
* Minnesota State Fair Grandstand
* Target Field

Theaters and clubs|

* Bryant-Lake Bowl
* The Cedar Cultural Center
* Dakota Jazz Club
* First Avenue & 7th St Entry
* Fitzgerald Theater
* NorShor Theatre
* Orchestra Hall
* Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
* Orpheum Theatre
* Palace Theatre
* Palmer's Bar
* Pantages Theatre
* State Theatre
* Turf Club

Arenas|

* AMSOIL Arena
* Duluth Entertainment Convention Center
* Minneapolis Armory
* Mayo Civic Center
* Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center
* Northrop Auditorium
* Roy Wilkins Auditorium
* Target Center
* Huntington Bank Stadium
* U.S. Bank Stadium
* Xcel Energy Center

Festivals|

* Basilica Block Party
* Moondance Jam
* Rock the Garden
* Soundset Music Festival
* Twin Cities Summer Jam
* WE Fest
* Winstock Country Music Festival

Recording studios|

* Earthology Records
* Flowers Studio
* Kay Bank Studios
* Pachyderm Studios
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* Sound 80

Record stores|

* Electric Fetus

Historic venues|

* Artists' Quarter
* Jay's Longhorn Bar
* Oar Folkjokeopus
* Pence Opera House
* Prom Ballroom
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Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI

Geographic|

* MusicBrainz place

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