Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts |
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Sam S. Shubert Theatre
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The Goodale Theater of the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts
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 Location in Minnesota
Location in the United States
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| Location | 528 Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Built | 1910 |
| Architect | Swasey, William Albert; Robinson, J.L. Co., et al. |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts |
| NRHP reference No. | 95001230 |
| Added to NRHP | October 31, 1995 |
The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts is a special place for performing arts in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's a main spot for dance in the area. The Cowles Center was created by Artspace Projects, Inc.
It includes the Goodale Theater, which used to be the Sam S. Shubert Theater. It also has the Hennepin Center for the Arts, where many dance and performing arts groups are based. There's also a modern education studio for online learning and a connecting atrium. The Cowles Center helps create, show, and teach dance in the Twin Cities.
Both the Goodale Theater and the Hennepin Center for the Arts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical buildings.
The center's online learning program started in 2002. It uses video calls to connect artists with students. This lets students in Minnesota and around the world learn from artists in real time.
Contents
History of the Shubert Theater
The Original Samuel S. Shubert Theater
The Shubert Theatrical Company was started by three brothers: Levi, Samuel, and Jacob. They began in New York theater in 1900. By 1920, they owned and produced more shows than anyone else in America.
Samuel Shubert sadly died in a train accident in 1905. His brothers honored him by naming new theaters after him. Two of these theaters opened on the same day in 1910. One was in Saint Paul, which is now the Fitzgerald Theater. The other was The Samuel S. Shubert Theater in Minneapolis. This theater later reopened as The Cowles Center in September 2011. It has a very interesting history.
The Samuel S. Shubert Theater was designed by William Albert Swasey. It was a medium-sized theater for its time, with 1,500 seats. It had two small balconies. The front of the building looked like a classic old building. It had four pairs of columns and three arched windows. Many decorations on the front were made of glazed terra cotta.
The first show at the Minneapolis Shubert Theatre was The White Sister. It starred Viola Allen. Tickets cost between 50 cents and $2.50.
Alexander G. “Buzz” Bainbridge became the Shubert's manager in 1910. He was only 25 years old. He used to work for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
The Shubert was built for touring Broadway shows. But these tours stopped in the summer, leaving the theater empty. So, the Shubert brothers asked Bainbridge to create a local acting group. The Bainbridge Players became very popular all year round. Some of their actors, like Victory Jory and Gladys George, later became successful movie stars.
In 1915, the Shubert started showing movies. A 40-piece orchestra played music along with the films. In 1918, the flu epidemic caused all Minneapolis theaters to close. The Shubert was updated during this time. New lights were added, the orchestra pit was made bigger, and the theater was repainted.
During the 1920s, movies became very popular. This made it harder for live theater to succeed. The Shubert kept going until 1933, but it couldn't last. Bainbridge closed his acting company. He then became the mayor of Minneapolis from 1933 to 1935.
The Alvin Theater Era
The Shubert reopened as “The Alvin” in 1935. It was named after its new owner, William Alvin Steffes. Steffes added a cool Art Deco sign. The theater showed both movies and touring Broadway shows. In December 1940, the theater closed for two months. It then reopened as a variety show theater.
A fire happened on July 6, 1941. This meant the theater needed five months of repairs. But The Alvin theater stayed open as a variety show place until 1953. Famous performers like Tempest Storm and Gypsy Rose Lee appeared there. A typical show offered entertainment from jugglers, comedians, and other variety acts. One famous performer was Dudley Riggs. He was a comedian and juggler. He later started the Brave New Workshop, which is now near The Cowles Center.
In November 1953, The Alvin changed again. Reverend Russell H. Olson turned the building into the Minneapolis Evangelistic Auditorium. The church closed just three years later.
The Academy Movie House
The Shubert came back in 1957 when Ted Mann bought it. He turned it into a movie theater and called it The Academy. On July 12, 1957, The Academy showed the Minneapolis premiere of Around the World in Eighty Days. This movie was made by Michael Todd, who was from Minnesota. Todd used to sell candy in the old Shubert Theater. He came to the opening with his wife, Elizabeth Taylor.
The Academy started to have problems. Newer, bigger movie theaters in the suburbs became more popular. In 1983, the theater closed its doors again.
Moving the Shubert Theater
Closed Doors and New Beginnings
In 1987, the area where the Shubert was located had some problems. The Minneapolis City Council decided to redevelop the area. This project put The Shubert at risk of being torn down.
Most of the buildings in the area were torn down in 1988 and 1989. But the Shubert remained. In 1990, a group called the Heritage Preservation Commission convinced city officials not to destroy the Shubert. They said it should only be torn down if it was too expensive to build around it. A group called Save Our Shubert wrote letters and held peaceful gatherings outside the theater. The Shubert was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. This meant the developers had to find a way to keep the Shubert in their plans.
Tom Nordyke from Artspace had a great idea. He suggested moving the Shubert out of the way. This idea helped everyone: the people who wanted to save old buildings, the developers, and the arts community. A company in Minneapolis studied the idea. They found that moving a 6-million-pound building a few blocks was possible!
It took twelve days to move the theater in February 1999. It went from its old spot to its new home on Hennepin Avenue. At 5.8 million pounds, it was the heaviest building ever moved on rubber tires. It even holds a Guinness World Record for this amazing accomplishment!
The Shubert was too big for city streets. But only parking lots were between it and its new home. After the move, the building was renovated. This created The Cowles Center for the Performing Arts.
Inside the Cowles Center
The Goodale Theater Today
The renovated Goodale Theater has 505 seats. There are 216 seats on the main level and 289 on the upper level. Guests get clear views of the stage. No seat is further than 65 feet from the center of the stage. Each row of seats curves in a half-circle to face the stage.
Beautiful cherrywood columns and old architectural details frame the stage opening. The floors backstage have a special linoleum. This allows ballet dancers to walk from their dressing rooms to the stage without taking off their toe shoes. The large backstage areas and dressing rooms offer lots of space. This supports many different dance companies and their needs. The orchestra pit can hold up to 42 musicians. This allows for live orchestral music during performances. The orchestra pit can also be changed to add two more rows of seats in the audience. The stage is big enough for choreographers to create large shows. It also has a tall stage house with 52 rigging lines. These can hold big and detailed set designs.
U.S. Bank Atrium Entrance
The main entrance to The Cowles Center is the U.S. Bank Atrium. Here you'll find the box office and information desk. There's also a snack area and a wall honoring donors. This atrium leads to both the Goodale Theater and The Hennepin Center for the Arts.
Above the snack area, there is a special wall art piece. It is inspired by a dance called Rites of Spring. This art uses Labanotation. Labanotation is a way of writing down dance movements. It's like how music notation writes down music. It uses symbols to show where a dancer's body parts are, the direction they move, how fast they move, and how much energy they use.
Target Education Studio
The Target Education Studio was made just for dance. It has a special sprung maple floor. This floor helps dancers' joints. It also has studio lighting and a wall of mirrors. This studio is home to the center's online learning program.
Using video call technology, the center connects artists with classrooms. This creates live, two-way teaching sessions. Thanks to generous support, the center can offer free sessions to schools in Minnesota.
First Season Performances
The Cowles Center's first season ran from fall 2011 to spring 2012. It brought many Minnesota dance companies together on one stage. Some of the dance companies that performed in the 2011–12 season included:
- Ragamala Dance
- Minnesota Dance Theatre
- Beyond Ballroom Dance Company
- Black Label Movement
- Zorongo Flamenco
- Native Pride Dancers
- James Sewell Ballet
- Matthew Janczewski's Arena Dance
- Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater
- Katha Dance Theater
- Shapiro and Smith Dance Company
- Zenon Dance Company
- Breaking Boundaries Dance Company
- Tu Dance
The first season also featured Cantus, a vocal group. And dancers from New York, Kegwin + Company, also performed.
