Feb 24, 2020 _ news

Emery Theatre Prepares Encore

The stage at the Emery Theatre hasn’t been illuminated much in the last 30 years nor have audiences been able to enjoy its celebrated acoustics, which have been compared to New York City’s Carnegie Hall. But this could soon change.

GBBN is working with The Children’s Theatre to explore the feasibility of adapting the Emery Theatre for use as The Children’s Theatre’s new home. This would allow The Children’s Theatre to expand its programming, enabling it to offer lesser-known and original works to more patrons.

“At this point, we’re focused on the question of how this historic space can be adapted to meet the programmatic needs of The Children’s Theatre,” says GBBN Principal, Chad Burke. “It’s too early to talk about ‘the design,’ but we’re finding great opportunities to create some really special moments within the building that would combine the cool, whimsical tone The Children’s Theatre is known for with the historic character of the Emery Theatre.”

While exploring the feasibility of renovating the historic theater, GBBN is also working with building owners on plans that would include additional apartments, update existing ones, and improve its common spaces.

This is not GBBN’s first experience with the Emery building. The firm did the original conversion of the building into apartments in 2000 with the help of Historic Tax Credits.

Read more about the project in the Cincinnati Business Courier or at WVXU.

Read about how GBBN helps our clients secure funding here.

Curious about our other work in Cincinnati’s urban core? Check out our case studies on 1010 on the Rhine, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati’s Renovation and Addition, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Otto M. Budig Theater, or Cincinnati Union Terminal.