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The Alaska Center for the Performing Arts began as just a dream. It was the dream of community leaders who believed that the performing arts in Alaska needed a permanent place they could call home. The world-class facility they envisioned was a place where the performing arts and artists could thrive, and where all Alaskans could come together to experience the joy, inspiration and enrichment that the performing arts provide. So began the dream, which became reality nearly thirty-five years later when the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts opened its doors for the first time.
Beginning in the 1960s (20 years prior to the opening of the Center), local arts organizations began advocating in earnest for a performing arts center located in Anchorage. Prior to the Center's opening, performing arts groups had all used performance spaces such as West High Auditorium, the University's Williamson Hall and the Sydney Laurence Auditorium (which except for a piece of the stage tower was razed for construction of the Center). Finally in the early eighties, funding from the State of Alaska, a vote of the people, and a site location helped their vision take shape.
In the 1980s, ground was broken for the Center in 1985. In 1987 Mayor Tony Knowles convinced local community leader, Gregory M. Carr, to lead the Board of Director for the non-profit organization founded to manage this new facility. Greg accepted the challenge and asked friends, family and many other community leaders to join him. Because of their help and his commitment to the dream of what the facility could bring the community, the building survived many obstacles to open in September 1988. The Discovery Theatre and Sydney Laurence Theatre opened on September 10, 1988, with an attendance of over 35,000 patrons. The opening of the Atwood Concert Hall and the Grand Opening of the entire facility was celebrated on December 10, 1988, with a gala performance featuring Jay Leno, Diane Schur and the Count Basie Orchestra.
Although very busy and much appreciated by the community now, the Center was not built without controversy. Originally estimated to cost $40 million, by the time the building celebrated its Grand Opening, the cost had swelled to $70 million with some parts of the building still unfinished. The facility suffered from a controversy over its naming, inaccessibility to the disabled, a leaking roof, a serious downturn in the economy and misunderstandings over interior features, such as the poppy carpet. There was even an offer to buy the Center for conversion into a gambling casino!
Controversy aside, the Center quickly become a very popular and well-utilized facility, even in its first year of operation. In its first full season (1989-90) over 89,000 patrons attended a variety of events at the Center, and these figures have steadily increased. Ten years later, annual attendance figures hovered above 240,000 patrons. Almost twenty years later, over 560,000 patrons have attended performances, conferences, meetings and other events at the Center, thanks primarily to the Center's Resident Companies.
Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, designed by Hardy, Holzman and Pfieffer, stand on a city block bounded on the south and north by 6th and 5th Avenues and on the west by G Street. To the east, the property abuts a second city block designated as Town Square Park. Together with the newly developed Dena'ina Center and the Egan Convention Center, these facilities are the major civic center in the heart of downtown Anchorage. Close to restaurants, hotels and shopping, it is the focus of Anchorage's cultural life!
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