Performing Arts Center [Archive]

archifreese

December 8th, 2005, 04:58 PM

yea but they're are obviously lack of urbanistic amentites in the design of the buildings,the structure has blank walls with setbacks for 3/4 of the facade,only the facade facing the boulevard features some sort of courtyard or walkable area,the rest of the structure falls and overwhelms the street.Only a partial 2/5 is open and exposes its interior ,through a glass facade that is quite and absurdly out of nature and does not fit in with rest of the design, which is lackluster, and dull atbest.It shows how pelli barely cared to see how this building would fit into the urban fabric of what was miami,sorry but this is an overpriced disappointment of a public building.

i really want to see what architectural critics will say about this buildings,i'm guessing it will be nothing short of rave reviews becuase ofcourse anything designed by the great cesar pelli is a great architectural landmark,although this in my opinion was some old crap design that was stored in his office waiting for some idiot to come along and pay a hefty amount of money for it.......well atleast it can past as decent at night,and during the day i guess i'll only look at the glass facade because everything else is dull tastless and out of placed.

exactly what i think as well !!! im sorry guys but this building doesnt live up to the hype and the 2nd ave, bayshore drive and the east bldgs facade next to the off ramp appear more like the prison on 5th st and 1st ave or whatever than an inviting public facility.
it doesnt appeal to alot of things these type of facilities should offer and its very introverted towards a plaza crosssed by 4 lanes of vehicular traffic. i just dont think it was the best PAC presented or that peli could have done - major failure i think but its better than nothing... maybe...

jdnn

December 8th, 2005, 10:27 PM

so lets paint it pastel colors... thats very miami

I like the idea! Just curious... what colors do you recommend? Maybe multi-colored? Something like Britto or maybe a pastel color for each "side" of the PAC? Somebody should bring this up to the mayor and somebody else should see Pelli's jaw drop in horror at the idea of Miamifying PAC!

Pablo63090

December 8th, 2005, 10:44 PM

Maybe the center should hire Yakov Agam to paint the center like Villa Regina on Brickell Avenue. It would look like a pack of skittles.

nimbyhater

December 9th, 2005, 01:03 AM

im thinkin more like south beach art deco pastels...

no britto! i hate that guy!

i dont think its that horrible, but it could definetly be better... like they said, theres to much vertical blank concrete... but i do love the glass

Roark

December 9th, 2005, 04:59 PM

dave8721

January 11th, 2006, 11:12 PM

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13601440.htm

Posted on Wed, Jan. 11, 2006

Performing Arts Center architect inspects his creation
BY FRED TASKER
ftasker@MiamiHerald.com

Cesar Pelli, the world-famous architect who designed the Miami Performing Arts Center, was to pay an inspection visit to his masterwork on Wednesday.

He was to lead a tour of the center's Carnival Concert Hall and Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House for 130 VIPs -- including U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, city and county mayors, commissioners, representatives of the resident companies that will use the center and major donors.

It was to be the first public look at the interiors of the two halls with most of the construction scaffolding down, showing the shape, size and finishings in the two halls.
Pelli also was approving the final applications of paint colors, plasterwork, seat fabrics, carpeting, wood and artwork railings.

The complex, which went under construction in September 2001, is set to open in October 2006, 20 months

Toucano

January 12th, 2006, 02:27 AM

Why is it written as it was intended to happen...?

Toucano

January 12th, 2006, 05:41 PM

Posted on Thu, Jan. 12, 2006
MIAMI PERFORMING ARTS CENTERArts center architect leads tour of facilityAfter huge cost overruns and delays, the Performing Arts Center's architect gave VIPs a tour that impressed them.BY FRED TASKERftasker@MiamiHerald.comLike a spry if aging Pied Piper, Cesar Pelli, 79, architect of the Miami Performing Arts Center, led more than 100 VIPs on their first tour of his almost finished center Wednesday.
No tragic opera ending here; the atmosphere was no less than giddy.
''This building will be among the very best halls in the world,'' said Pelli, whose other works include the Petronas Towers in Malaysia -- among the world's tallest buildings -- and the World Financial Center in New York. ``A lot more interesting and fun than Lincoln Center.''
He got no argument from the crowd, made up of politicians, donors and representatives of the performing groups that will use the center's 2,454-seat Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House, 2,166-seat Carnival Concert Hall and 200-seat Studio Theater.
''It's wonderful what this will do for Miami,'' said Sanford Ziff, the Sunglass Hut magnate who paid $10 million to have his and his wife's names on the ballet opera house.
The overjoyed Ziffs turned into a Vaudeville comic duo:
He: ``I never knew optometry could lead to this.''
She: ``He had a vision.''
Stepping to the front of the not quite finished stage in the opera house, Florida Grand Opera President Jane Robinson, who studied music and drama at Vassar some time ago, burst into a soaring mezzo line from Gaetano Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor.
''I always wanted to do that,'' she said, beaming.
Things haven't always gone so smoothly. Envisioned since 1979, the PAC finally went under construction in 2001. Construction now is slated to be complete Aug. 4, with a gala grand opening Oct. 5 -- 20 months past the original schedule. The total price will be $446.3 million -- $102.1 million over budget -- with Miami-Dade County hotel tax revenue and Community Redevelopment Authority funds covering the vast majority of the cost.
As recently as June 2004, the project nearly halted amid soaring costs, ever retreating completion dates and recriminations between its architect, Pelli, Clarke & Pelli Associates, and its builder, Performing Arts Center Builders, a joint venture with Odebrecht U.S., EllisDon Construction and The Haskell Co.
It was only when County Manager George Burgess threatened to fire both architect and builder that concessions were made, construction was reorganized, and work began to go more smoothly.
But on Wednesday, bygones clearly were forgiven.
''The builders have done a superb job,'' said Pelli partner Fred Clarke. ``There's been tremendous cooperations between us.''
Burgess sounded more relieved than elated: ``Great things are not supposed to be easy. It's been a challenge.''
Those raising money for the halls felt they were getting value for their dollars.
''The best thing is, we made no compromises -- in design, acoustics, architecture,'' said Sherwood Weiser, chairman of the PAC Foundation, which is raising more than $40 million in private donations toward the center's construction. ``This will rank with the best of the best in the world.''
Before the tour, visitors had been warned to wear sensible shoes. Plastic helmets and goggles were handed out for the long walk through buildings still coated with concrete and plaster dust, random puddles and electrical conduits hanging, snakelike, from unfinished ceilings.
Following Pelli through the two performance chambers, the crowd fell silent as it gazed up at the light maple wood seating and chamber accents and the pale rose fabrics on seats and balcony fronts in the concert hall. Dark cherry wood and burgundy fabrics decorated the ballet opera house.
''I almost teared up,'' said James Herron, an attorney, chairman of the Florida Grand Opera and one of the PAC's original supporters. ``It has such warmth. It almost feels small, even though it holds more than 2,000.''
Leading his minions into the 100-foot-tall grand entrance to the ballet opera house, which faces south toward downtown Miami, Pelli exuded enthusiasm.
'When you drive up Biscayne Boulevard, it looks as if you're going to drive right into the lobby. If you're here, in your beautiful dresses looking gorgeous, drivers will see you and think, `Why aren't I in there?' And they'll buy a ticket next week.''
Another purpose of Pelli's visit was to inspect and sign off on paint colors, carpet fabrics, wood trim and other aspects of the building seven months before its completion. He found few faults -- and on-site managers were relieved.
''Cesar is very particular,'' said Ron Austin, PAC construction director. Austin said that when he worked with Pelli on the $82 million Aranoff Center for the Arts in Cincinnati, which opened in 1995, Pelli visited the project seven weeks before it was scheduled to open. He concluded then that the color value, or intensity, of the ochre paint in the hallways leading to the major donors' boxes was incorrect.
''We had to put the scaffolding back up and repaint it all in that time frame,'' Austin said. ``This time, I made sure he visited seven months before the opening.''

Roark

January 12th, 2006, 08:18 PM

That building is absolutely astounding. The hard hat tour helps to explain the subtlties of the architecture. Proving again that you don't have to wear flashy colors to be noticed as a great piece of work!
The people of Miami are definitely excited about this one!!!!! :cheers:

Sunstorm

January 19th, 2006, 08:12 PM

From the pics I've seen of the PAC, it does look very understated. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. It could be tacky and over-the-top like that thing being built up in Atlanta designed by Caltravera (or however you spell the guy's name).

rider_of_rohan

January 19th, 2006, 10:36 PM

I am kind of troubled how they are trying to stop highrise construction around it though.

dave8721

January 19th, 2006, 10:38 PM

I am kind of troubled how they are trying to stop highrise construction around it though.

I'm sure they'll have the same problems with the Herald projects as well.

BornInTheGrove

January 20th, 2006, 01:37 AM

I'm sure they'll have the same problems with the Herald projects as well.
I have a feeling they won't throw such a big hissy fit over the Herald towers as they did for Opus.

nimbyhater

January 20th, 2006, 02:11 AM

no highway expanison projects on the hearld site... and they never really had a view of the ocean neways, so they can complain abou that either, this should go pretty well... especially if they do that huge retail/entertainment thing they wanna do, pac will b happy to have more people in the area

dave8721

March 17th, 2006, 03:18 PM

Some interior details of the PAC:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/14118869.htm

ARTS

PAC to greet patrons with plenty of art

The first of more than $4.2 million in artwork is taking shape at the Miami Performing Arts Center.

BY FRED TASKER
ftasker@MiamiHerald.com

Beckoning hands, stars and flying fish -- emblems of applause, unity and welcome -- will greet patrons entering the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Miami Performing Arts Center when it opens in October.
The symbols are embodied in the epoxy terrazzo floors created by José Bedia, a Cuban-born artist best known for his paintings, sculptures and art installations.

Workmen on Thursday put a final polish on the artwork in the floor in the ballet opera house; work is to be complete in about a month on a mirror-image floor by Bedia in the Carnival Concert Hall across Biscayne Boulevard.

As patrons ascend to higher levels in the MPAC's two halls, they will pass by more Bedia art -- etched glass rails for the balcony lobbies depicting palm trees, boats, more birds and other tropical figures.

The floors and railings are part of $4.2 million in art that will be installed in the MPAC, curated and funded by the Miami-Dade Art in Public Places Trust.

''We're so excited. These are beautiful,'' says Brandi Reddick, art education and community outreach coordinator for the trust.

Bedia is elated: ``I'm very proud that my work will be permanent here. My grandkids will be able to come and say this was mine.''

He praised the MPAC workers' expertise in creating the terrazzo floor from his sketches.

Bedia says the hand on the ballet opera house floor and the hand on the concert hall floor, if seen from above, are reaching out to each other.

``They're like two hands ready to shake. It's a symbol of welcome.''

Other artworks curated by the trust and still under construction at the MPAC include:
• Robert Zakanitch's Hibiscus Curtain for the stage in the ballet opera house.
• Gary Moore's Pharaoh's Dance Plaza, at the southwest corner of the ballet opera house.
• Anna Valentina Murch's fountain, stone benches and travertine wave fountain for the Plaza for the Arts, which stretches across Biscayne Boulevard between the MPAC's two buildings.
• Cundo Bermúdez's Ways of Performing mural for the MPAC's studio theater

BornInTheGrove

March 17th, 2006, 09:29 PM

here's some pics of the interior, provided by the herald

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a31/BornInTheGrove/pac-int-1.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a31/BornInTheGrove/pac-int-2.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a31/BornInTheGrove/pac-int-3.jpg

Sunstorm

March 17th, 2006, 09:53 PM

Very nice installations. Esp the guardrail in the last pic. Very unique.

dave8721

March 22nd, 2006, 09:31 PM

All I can say about this one is....ugh. Such stupidity:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/14155449.htm

UP FRONT | DOWNTOWN MIAMI

PAC's patterned brickwork plaza gets new look

Federal highway regulations call for traffic stripes on the patterned brickwork centerpiece for the twin halls of the new $446 million Miami Performing Arts Center on Biscayne Boulevard.

BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI
aviglucci@MiamiHerald.com

This is urban planning, Miami style:
Hire some of the finest landscape architects in the country. Have them design a fancy patterned brickwork plaza on Biscayne Boulevard to serve as centerpiece for the twin halls of the new $446 million Miami Performing Arts Center.

Then stand by helplessly as state and county roadway bureaucrats make you lay down fat Day-Glo yellow traffic stripes across the thing.

Hard to fathom, perhaps, but chagrined PAC officials say that's exactly what happened.

''I guess none of us like it. But there's nothing we can do about it,'' PAC trust spokeswoman Suzette Espinosa said.

Plaza or no plaza, Florida Department of Transportation officials said Biscayne Boulevard is a federal highway and must conform to federal highway regulations, which meticulously lay out the color, width and length of roadway markings. It's a matter of safety, road officials said.
But some other public officials are left shaking their heads.

''FDOT has done what it felt it had to do regardless of what it's going to look like,'' said Frank Rollason, executive director of the city's Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, which is spending $4.5 million to beautify the streets around the PAC. ``I guess we in this country are too stupid to drive a block without a stripe.''

Actually, it's less than a block.

The oval Plaza for the Arts, finished late last year, is meant to weave together the center's two performance halls, which straddle the boulevard between 13th and 14th streets. Designed by Balmori Associates of New York and EDAW of Atlanta, the plaza covers a swath of the boulevard at mid-block and can accommodate up to 10,000 people for special outdoor events, with the roadway closed to traffic.

Problem is, the boulevard is thick with four lanes of traffic the rest of the time.

On that portion of the boulevard, federal rules call for a solid double yellow stripe, as well as white lane markings. The striping -- not paint, but thick plastic strips melted onto the pavement -- was applied to the plaza this month.

Regulators feared the brick plaza would confuse motorists, especially at night in rainy weather, if they didn't see clear lane markings, said Roberto Espejo, on-site architect for the PAC designer, Cesar Pelli.

At first, in planning meetings held several years ago, state highway officials resisted the plaza itself. The PAC team then sought alternatives to the striping, Espejo said -- including incorporating lane markings in the brickwork design. But that was rejected by FDOT and county public works officials as impractical and insufficiently visible.

Eventually, Espejo said, the PAC surrendered.

''It was an amazingly dense process. Just getting pavers on the plaza was a big win for us,'' Espejo said. ``We would have loved not having the stripes, but the issue came down to having the cleanest and simplest way to get approval.''

On Tuesday, after calls for comment from The Miami Herald, FDOT officials appeared to relent. The district's director of transportation development, Javier Rodriguez, visited the plaza and conceded the striping ''doesn't make a lot of sense.'' It can be easily removed, he said.

''We are going to reassess and see what's acceptable so we don't ruin this design,'' he said, adding: ``The thing to do would have been from the beginning to incorporate the markings into the design."

http://www.miami.com/images/miami/miamiherald/14159/200484090479.jpg

http://www.miami.com/images/miami/miamiherald/14159/200484104638.jpg

http://www.miami.com/images/miami/miamiherald/14159/200484118797.jpg

Dale

March 22nd, 2006, 09:42 PM

"The thing to do from the begininning would have been to incorporate the markings into the design."

No, the thing to do would have been for them to keep their damned overweaning governmental paws off the thing.

Toucano

March 22nd, 2006, 10:57 PM

Its absurd...

brickell

March 23rd, 2006, 12:25 AM

In hindsight the plaza should have just been built over the road. It would have been more expensive, but how often is the city going to be willing to close down biscayne blvd?

archifreese

March 23rd, 2006, 03:01 AM

^exactly....

Paul305

March 23rd, 2006, 06:08 AM

I went to the Heat vs. Celtics game (W 107-104 with a sweet comeback towards the end) while I was in town for Spring Break and they had Biscayne blvd. closed for a while after the game ended to allow pedestrians to exit. I'm sure they would close it down temporarily after events at the PAC. That way the pedestrians can walk the four blocks to the nearest parking garage without getting hit by cars.

100% humedo

May 15th, 2006, 12:02 AM

This has absolutely nothing to do with the subject, sorry for that but I'm information hungry.

I'm looking to continue my film degree somewhere, hopefully in Miami.
By far the only school in Miami area I've found that has a BA-degree for film seems to be University of Miami, is that really so? Miami-Dade community college has nothing to offer? University of Florida?
How about Fort Lauderdale?

The university of Miami would sure be nice, but for my wallet.. I think it's around 28 000 $ a year.

DGM

May 15th, 2006, 01:27 AM

I think it is more than that ($40,000?) unless you have scholarships. U. Florida has a Film and Media degree but it is in Gainesville.

100% humedo

May 15th, 2006, 11:06 AM

Looks like the Miami-Dade community college has an associate degree to offer afterall.
Whew!! I could do that :)

Roark

May 15th, 2006, 11:20 AM

Looks like the Miami-Dade community college has an associate degree to offer afterall. Whew!! I could do that :)Whoa...that's Miami Dade College!
It used to be MDCC, it awarded more Associates degrees than any Community College in the United States.
MDC now has four year programs, and serves more than 163,000 students per year.

nimbyhater

May 16th, 2006, 01:02 AM

miami international university of art and design in the old omni building next to downtown has a general degree in visual and performing arts and cinematography... tuition is 15,000 a year plus 5000 a year if you want to live on campus (which i have no idea where that would be but they say they have it)... it is however one of the very few places in miami where there actually is public transportation and you could easily live almost anywhere and take the metro rail and then the metro mover which has a stop directly in front of the building... perhaps this is popular as only 33% of the 1,328 undergrads live on campus, but this is not to indicate that this is just a school of miamians because 74% of students are from out of state

i dont think florida international university has anything... but thats another large college in the area...

100% humedo

May 16th, 2006, 07:33 PM

From what I've heard that is a pretty good school. I may have to consider it too. Although 15,000 a year quickly becomes 40, 000 for international students. I know practically nothing about MDC. How's that for studying film? Atleast it seems to be more wallet friendy, only 4000$ a year.

Paulo2004

May 25th, 2006, 02:38 AM

Great centre.

jamesgood72

May 26th, 2006, 02:14 PM

ChuckScraperMiami#1

May 27th, 2006, 05:13 AM

James is Good :hi: , I'm getting this feeling you either live in the Midtown area, or you are waiting for your condo to get completed in the Omni - Midtown - Edgewater area,

maybe the 1800 Club ??? :cheer:
or the Quantum Towers ???, :okay:
or do you have one in the Opera Tower ??? :nono: too expensive :runaway:

anyway, lol, please keep flying your model airplane and take more mile high pictures. :cheers: :wave:

dave8721

July 19th, 2006, 05:21 PM

Looks like our PAC has a name now: "The Carnival Center for the Performing Arts". Also the concert hall has a new way too long name: "The John S and James L Knight Concert Hall" to go along with the "Sanford & Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House"

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15068972.htm

Performing arts center gets millions -- and a new name

BY DANIEL CHANG
dchang@MiamiHerald.com

The new Miami performing arts center got a multi-million dollar name change today, courtesy of two separate gifts from Carnival Corporation and the Knight Foundation.

Carnival, which earlier had given the center $10 million for the naming rights to the concert hall, contributed an additional $10 million and received the naming rights for the entire center, now dubbed the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts.

The Knight Foundation, which had awarded more than $3 million in grants to the center, contributed about $7 million more and received the naming rights to the symphony hall, now named the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall.

The Sanford & Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House will keep its name, bestowed after a $10 million gift from the South Florida philanthropists for which it is named.

The gifts were announced at a 10 a.m. press conference this morning.

Sherwood ''Woody'' Weiser, chairman of the MPAC Foundation, which raises private dollars for the center, hailed the two donors as paragons of civic philanthropy.

''I don't think anybody has given more to this community than the Knight Foundation and Carnival,'' Weiser said. ``Miami is coming of age. It's no longer a sun and sand city.''

Howard Frank, Carnival's chief operating officer, said the cruise line's relationship with the center dates back to about 1991, when company founder Ted Arison first pledged $10 million to the center.

The latest gift was affirmed this spring over a tuna salad lunch with Frank, Weiser and Carnival CEO Mickey Arison.

''We all felt it was important to get the performing arts center off to a good start from a financial standpoint,'' Frank said, adding that the company's board wrestled with the notion of such a prominent endeavor.

In the past, Carnival has given to groups like the New World Symphony, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, the United Way and Camillus House -- without much fanfare.

''Our philanthropy has been quiet philanthropy. Our corporate style has been quiet,'' he said. ``That was one of the things we considered.''

Ultimately, Carnival's board decided the center's visibility made it worthwhile. ''It gives recognition to Carnival and its employees,'' Frank said. ``I think this is the first time we've ever done something where we truly put our name out there.''

The names John S. and James L. Knight are well known in Miami, the brothers having owned and operated the Miami Herald and given to countless local causes.

Among their legacies is the Knight Foundation, whose commitment to the center dates back to 1995 and includes numerous grants in support of the center's building campaign and artistic initiatives, such as the Merce Cunningham retrospective planned for early 2007.

''We wanted to ensure that not only would the performing arts center get off on the right foot . . . but that the programming would be supported as well,'' said Alberto Ibargüen, president of the Knight Foundation and former publisher of The Miami Herald.

Ibargüen added that the foundation shares with Carnival a desire to improve the community. ''There's a commonality of purpose, of goals, of ambitions for Miami that we have with Carnival,'' he said.

In Miami, the Knight Foundation has awarded more than 1,000 grants worth more than $155 million since 1950.

''This is easily our biggest grant ever in Miami,'' he said.

Weiser said he hoped the two gifts would encourage others to follow suit, as is often the case in philanthropy.

''People are inspired by people they admire or want to be admired by -- and also their own feelings about the cause,'' Weiser said.

Ibargüen added that even Ted Arison and John S. and James L. Knight began giving ''in the thousands'' before graduating to multi-million dollar donations.

Michael Hardy, president and CEO of the center, stressed that the gifts also lent legitimacy to the $446.3 million project, which has been criticized in the past for construction delays and a $102.1 million cost overrun.

''They serve to really validate the concept of a public-private partnership,'' he said, ``not just because of the size of the gifts but because of the reputations of the donors.''

Carnival and the Knight Foundation's gifts bring the performing arts center's private fundraising tally to $80 million, towards a goal of $85 million. The remainder of the $446.3 million center will be paid for with public monies primarily derived from Miami-Dade County hotel tax revenues and the City of Miami's Community Redevelopment Agency.

As the center nears its scheduled completion date of Aug. 4, private fundraising has picked up its pace, said Al Milano, the center's chief fundraiser.

In the past two years, Milano said, the Miami Performing Arts Center Foundation has raised about $32 million, or 40 percent of its goal.
But as fundraising improves, an old concern is likely to arise regarding South Florida's philanthropic limits.

In the past, the center's private fundraising was a cause for consternation among its resident companies -- the Concert Association of Florida, the Florida Grand Opera, the Miami City Ballet and the New World Symphony.

The resident companies are all cultural nonprofits that rely on individual and corporate donations to make up as much as one third to one half of their annual budgets.

Some representatives of the resident companies had worried that the center's fundraising would siphon money from their own campaigns.

Mike Eidson, chairman of the board of the Miami City Ballet, said he is certain that the center's fundraising for building and operations has cut into the ballet's efforts.

''It's very logical that the performing arts center is competing with the resident companies,'' he said. ``We have a limited number of philanthropists who live in our community and donate to our community.

``So it's just logical to think you're losing out on some of those people.''

But Eidson said he is resigned to that circumstance and now hopes that the center will provide the ballet with an opportunity to grow its audience -- and donor base -- with bigger, better performances.

''The performing arts center is a positive for the Miami City Ballet,'' Eidson said. ``The fact that we have to compete for donors is something that's going to make us be better at presenting our case.

''It's bad in the sense that some of the money that would have gone to us is going there,'' he said. ``But it will be a beautiful place to perform. We will be able to bring in a bigger audience that will make bigger donations.''

In fact, the ballet already has attracted a new corporate sponsor, U.S. Trust, a New York City financial institution with a Miami office.

''We would not have gotten that gift if we were not going to the performing arts center,'' Eidson said.

Milano said he's heard the concerns from resident companies before. But he believes that South Florida's philanthropic potential has yet to be exhausted.

Center fundraisers have approached local and international corporations, full-time and seasonal residents, foundations and other sources.

''We've really done well across the board,'' Milano said. ``I think corporate Miami has stepped up. . . . Among the local foundations I think we've done very well.''

''People who care about the live performing arts without a doubt have come forward,'' he said. ``We have about 3,500 members and they're all fairly high end. Just in memberships we've raised $3.5 million through Alliance for MPAC.''

But Milano considers real estate developers among the region's untapped donor sources.

''You could write a list as long as your arm for all the developers who advertise that their buildings are in walking distance of the performing arts center,'' he said, ``and you can count on one hand the number of developers who have contributed.''

The short list: Terra Group has given the center $1 million; local real estate broker Edie Laquer has given about $300,000.

There's still time for real estate developers and others to step forward, though. Milano said fundraising will continue through the center's Oct. 5 gala grand opening, and he's hoping others will want to follow the example set by the Knight Foundation and Carnival Corporation.

Roark

July 19th, 2006, 08:56 PM

Nice attitude Al Milano...
But Milano considers real estate developers among the region's untapped donor sources.
''You could write a list as long as your arm for all the developers who advertise that their buildings are in walking distance of the performing arts center,'' he said, ``and you can count on one hand the number of developers who have contributed.''Wow...he seems to say that with disdain for developers. If that is the way he asked for a favor, "Donate to us because you are in proximity to us and you put our buidling on your community map, then it's no wonder he's only raised 40% of his goal in the last 2 years.
I've made my contribution, I hope none of it goes for this clown's salary.

ChuckScraperMiami#1

July 23rd, 2006, 03:06 AM

Dave :wave: , my friend :) , it seems to me, that the actual cost for the completion and operated with furniture and artfilled P.A.C. has reached over the 600 million mark, IMO. :omg:

Verticus

July 23rd, 2006, 07:51 PM

I believe it was the first university to offer a degree in computer animation for film.

Verticus

July 23rd, 2006, 08:04 PM

I like nearly all of the development going on in this area, and think the PAC is great, but really, if there are rumours of the Herald offices being moved, why didn't Miami have a bit of common sense and put the PAC on the waterfront lot? THAT would have been so much better than burying this cool looking building in a load of condos and other high-rises, right? The PAC is going to be there for 100 years or more, waiting 5 to get the Herald land would have made sense to me.

All hindsight I guess...

-James.
Actually, they could have put it on Watson Island or in Bicentennial Park. A waterfront location would make the world take notice. I suspect, however, that the world will note its arrival anyway. It is an amazing building and if it performs as designed, it will allow Miami to reinvent itself into something other than the fun and sun capitol of the world.

Verticus

August 4th, 2006, 08:35 PM

For all of you tall building guys who don't care too much about the PAC, you might want to click this link anyway to see a neat little Miami Herald interactive segment that includes a rendering of the PAC and the towers that will be built around it: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15199356.htm

dave8721

August 4th, 2006, 08:53 PM

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15199356.htm

PAC to pass construction milestone

BY FRED TASKER
ftasker@MiamiHerald.com

The Carnival Center for the Performing Arts is expected to pass a major milestone Friday afternoon when it is likely to get its temporary certificate of occupancy -- right on what has been an often postponed schedule.

It means that, while a thousand things remain to be done, the building would be certified safe to use. Its electrical systems give light. Its water is drinkable. Its air-conditioning cools. Its elevators go up and down. Its fire alarms wail. Its toilets flush. Its access points admit the handicapped.

And, after months of work, stone masons on Wednesday attached the final granite slab to the exterior of the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall and, on Thursday, took down the scaffolding.

So, barring catastrophe, the center on Biscayne Boulevard will be ready for its gala grand opening weekend starting Oct. 4. Ready, even, for its first, pre-gala play, Light in the Piazza, which opens Sept. 26.

BornInTheGrove

August 5th, 2006, 01:18 AM

Just saw on NBC6: Carnival Center for the Performing Arts is officially done with construction.

ChuckScraperMiami#1

August 5th, 2006, 06:09 PM

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15199356.htm
Dave :) , your Quick, Fast, and great Info, I drove up Biscayne Blvd. yesterday, and the outside is still a disaster to drive Thru, the street is still half done, and needs to be all paved and over paved, yet, the sidewalks are in with tiny little bricks in the sidewalks, and the FDOT white building needs to be Painted or taken down at N.E. 13th street for the underground I -395 expressway, YES !!! :cheers:

P.S. everyone :grouphug: , Trees are going up everywhere in this area, OVER STOCKED, so much the windshield washers have NO room to get a buck from your Car, Palm trees are up getting off I - 395 into N.E. 2nd Ave and Biscayne Blvd :righton: :okay: ,

I never seen so many trees, are these all from Manny Diaz Farms in South Dade, ???? :okay: :cheer:

900Biscayneguy

August 5th, 2006, 06:44 PM

Chuck ,

I am very curious, where are you talking about regarding all the new palm trees? Where are they being planted? Is this the area around the PAC? Can someone take some photos? Would love to see the new palm trees.

umiami305

August 17th, 2006, 06:12 AM

Aug 16, 2006 PAC

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/3577/dsc03969za1.png
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/6383/dsc03968hb0.png

ChuckScraperMiami#1

August 17th, 2006, 01:49 PM

Thanks :) , U MIAMI :) , your Okay in my book !!! :cheers:

900 Biscayne Guy :) , my friend, There's Ya New Palm Trees, Their everywhere, just like I said, from the OFF Ramps of I-395 to everywherre you look on Biscayne Blvd. NEW Palm trees are going up in the hundreds !!! :cheers:

dave8721

August 17th, 2006, 03:00 PM

Article from today's Herald on the PAC:

Looking nice on the inside:
http://www.miami.com/images/miami/miamiherald/15291/233822646611.jpg

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15291303.htm

CARNIVAL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
New concert hall ready for fine tuningAcoustics experts hope to avoid pitfalls of other venues as they eagerly await sound adjustment of Miami's new concert hall

By FRED TASKER
ftasker@MiamiHerald.com

When the Cleveland Orchestra sounds the opening note of Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 on Friday morning to help fine-tune the acoustics of the concert hall in the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts, the most intent listeners will be acousticians Russell Johnson and Tateo Nakajima.

They'll be hoping for a sound so complex and yet so clear that, as Nakajima puts it, ``even when the music stops, everybody's holding their breath, and you still hear its reverberation in the air.''

But they know that doesn't always happen.

At Philadelphia's $235 million Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where the duo's firm, Artec, created an acoustical system similar to Miami's, classical music critics at its 2001 opening blasted its sound as ''lacking in warmth,'' even ''an acoustical Sahara.'' And even after three years of tinkering, Artec wrote a report in 2004 recommending major, expensive changes to the acoustics of Kimmell's Verizon Hall.

Johnson and Nakajima promise Miami won't encore Kimmel's song.

''The people of Miami should not be worried about this hall,'' Nakajima says. ``It's designed for everything from Gloria Estefan to full-size orchestras. We have every reason to be confident.''

Ron Austin, the Miami center's construction director, says he was aware of the Artec report and that Miami has taken steps to avoid Kimmel's problems.

''Russell Johnson is one of the world's greatest acousticians,'' he said. ``I don't have concerns we will run into the problems that Kimmel did.''

NEGATIVE REVIEWS

When Kimmel's 2,547-seat Verizon Hall opened in December 2001, it got negative reviews from classical music critics. Eight months later, The Miami Herald's critic, the late James Roos, visited Verizon and called it ``gray, feeble and transparent.''

A major problem, says Johnson, was that in a rush to meet its deadline, the hall was opened before the acoustics were finished.

''The date was set months earlier, and the construction company didn't meet its goal,'' he says.

Pointing out that major new concert halls routinely need months of fine-tuning to achieve their maximum sound, Johnson and Nakajima spent much time experimenting with the trademark ''adjustable acoustics'' they had installed at Kimmel: • An ''acoustic canopy'' that is raised and lowered above the orchestra to distribute its sound over the audience.

• Huge ''reverberation doors'' in the walls that open and close to change the size of the room for acoustical purposes.

• Heavy drapes that are raised and lowered along the walls to dampen reverberation for amplified rock music.

Miami's John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall has all of those acoustical elements.

Artec's Kimmel adjustments pleased some. Mark Swed, classical music critic for The Los Angeles Times, who had written of an ''outright ugliness'' of sound when the hall opened, by March 2003 was gushing about ''an exceptional acoustical transformation.'' He added, ``I felt as though that violin was hovering magically in the air all around me.''

But a year later the Artec report was obtained by Peter Dobrin, music critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

That report, Dobrin wrote, acknowledged that Verizon Hall still suffered from a ''low level of reverberance'' and ``relatively low level of impact of the orchestral sound.''

Artec's major recommendation: Change materials in the acoustical canopy and replace all 100-plus reverberation doors, Dobrin's story said -- acknowledging ''enormous technical difficulties and cost'' in doing so.

Paul Marotta, Kimmel's communications director, did not challenge Dobrin's story but said: ``That was an internal document. It was never meant to be public.''

Kimmel President Janice C. Price did not comment.

In Miami, Nakajima acknowledged Artec wrote the report but said he could not discuss it because it belongs to Kimmel. ``We're proud of Kimmel. Their needs evolved. We're working on it.''

Nakajima also acknowledged that some had criticized Kimmel's reverberation doors as being too flimsy, made of lightweight, composite material. Without conceding any mistake at Kimmel, he said Miami's reverb doors are six inches thick and of poured concrete, some weighing more than 10,000 pounds.

''You have to be careful comparing one center to another,'' he said.

''We always made it very clear we wanted world-class caliber,'' Austin said. ``Acoustics on a par with the great halls in the world. We've taken every step we can to maintain the integrity of that.''

PREVIOUS WORK

Johnson, who did his first full-fledged acoustics design in 1959 at the New Tanglewood Concert Shell in Massachusetts, has been a pioneer in adjustable acoustics. The adjustments let a single hall accommodate a full-size orchestra, a solo performer and a rock band.

Scott Cantrell, music critic for The Dallas Morning News, praises Artec's Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, which opened in 1989: ``From the start, it had a sound that is seldom found in a modern hall -- rich and sumptuous and warm.''

In Tampa, Johnson and Artec did the acoustics for the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, which hosts the Florida Orchestra.

''The orchestra has been pleased,'' says center spokesman Lorrin Shepard.

In West Palm Beach, Tim Lessig, technical director for the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, said: ``Johnson did a wonderful job. The acoustics are excellent.''

Johnson's designs include the Sibelius Concert Hall in Finland, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Artec also designed Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Orange County (Calif.) Performing Arts Center, to open Sept. 15.

Nakajima, acknowledging criticism by some that Kimmel's design was hurt by ''value engineering'' budget cuts, said that didn't happen in Miami. The budget for the center now stands at $102.1 million more than was originally anticipated.

spellbound

August 18th, 2006, 02:09 AM

Verticus

August 18th, 2006, 02:36 AM

A great additon to South Florida's cultural scene, obviously, but I'm curious how others think of it architecturally.

I'm a little underwhelmed seeing the finished product, to be honest. It's not the kind of "statement building" I was hoping for...but I'm glad it's finally done, regardless.
To quote myself, "no matter how grand the design and effective the accoustics are, Pelli's buildings would be hard to pick out of a lineup of concert halls." You can read more if so inclined on my blog at [url=http://miamivisionblogarama.blogspot.com/2006/07/miami-performing-arts-center-cultural_27.html]
That said, I still think, as an example of engineering, it is an amazing building and hopefully will "sound" better than it looks. In time, when word gets out, I suspect it may become one of the best performance structures in the world because of its engineering.

girasole

August 18th, 2006, 03:45 AM

I was hoping it would grow on me, but from day one up to now it looks like a mishmash of glass walls and angles and does nothing to inspire. And I had high hopes for the integration of the Sears tower, but I think the ball was dropped on that one. Maybe one evening after a couple of glasses of wine and front row seats to U2 unplugged or Tom Jones or somebody and I'll feel differently about the place :D

arch photographer

August 18th, 2006, 07:42 AM

I'm still hoping that when all is said and done, the roads are all complete and the landscaping has had some time to grow in, that it will start to sing. Could they have selected a more mundane stone for the cladding, which is almost the whole building. The color is so uninteresting. I like how a friend at Bermello called them those two mastodons.

umiami305

August 18th, 2006, 07:51 AM

A nice lighting concept to highlight all those triangular lines on the stone might be a nice touch to help that bland, uninspiring stone facade. I dont think the design is all that bad they just used the wrong material. A metal like on the Chrysler building in NY would have been interesting. Lets hope the architects have some tricks up there sleeves.

Verticus

August 18th, 2006, 04:12 PM

Rx727sfl2002

August 18th, 2006, 06:08 PM

there will be lighting effects and you will see what a great design it is

magic-city

August 18th, 2006, 07:45 PM

Check out his image showing the Sears Tower and surrounding areas. This image is about 50 years ago. Imagine what this area will look like in another 50 years! The Performing Arts Center will be a catalyst for tremendous change.

Check out the old neon billboards on the Miami Herald site and the old WQAM antenna which is still there. Bicentennial park used to have fuel tanks and the old Port of Miami.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/miami17/miamiheraldsite.jpg

Verticus

August 18th, 2006, 09:28 PM

Again, amazing photos. I had no idea that billboards were placed to face the bay.

brickell

August 18th, 2006, 11:27 PM

Is that the incenerator in the upper right hand corner?

arch photographer

August 19th, 2006, 06:35 AM

spellbound

August 19th, 2006, 12:50 PM

The upper west side in NYC used to be a ghetto...then Lincoln Center opened and it is the most desirable neighborhood in NYC. I agree, lighting could be just the thing to save it. I can't wait to see what they do, I hope they go all out.

Lighting can do PLENTY, agreed, but it's also obvious they had to cut a lot of corners because of financial constraints. It isn't the building originally envisioned at all.

I think it retains the ability to evolve into something better, however, and the inside looks pretty damn good (at least from the pics).

In any regard, I'm glad to see it done. The next step should be getting a Miami-based Symphony to call it home...something that's actually respected and supported locally. Can that become a reality?

spellbound

August 19th, 2006, 12:55 PM

ChuckScraperMiami#1

August 19th, 2006, 05:25 PM

WOW Magic CITY :hi: :applause: , You have done it Again :bow: , I never knew I could see the picture back in the 50's when my grandparents first moved here, and Bought us kids to that Sears and Auto Service center there to get my grandpa's old 1955 Buick repaired.

And everyone check out the tallest white building there northwest of the Sears, Its the OLD Lindsey Hopkins VO-Tech School Center.

Thanks Magic City :rock: , and everyone :grouphug: else, U- Miami :) , Spellbound :okay: , MIAballinboi :righton: , DAVE, all the other Daves :cheer: , RX, James is Good, so many others here that I have to thanked also. ,,who posts these Fantastic Pics here in our FAMILY Miami :grouphug: Forum.

GOD BLESS the MIA !!! :dance:

dave8721

September 26th, 2006, 06:27 PM

Finally. The Carnival Center has its grand opening tonight and hosts its first paid performance.

http://www.miami.com/images/miami/miamiherald/15611/243718197283.jpg

The stage is set for center's debut

After five years of construction, the Carnival Center prepared for its first paid performance.

BY DANIEL CHANG
dchang@MiamiHerald.com

A touch of spackle here. A patch of carpet there. Plenty of floor wax and furniture polish.

Five years after construction crews broke ground on the mammoth Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, workers labored into the night Monday preparing the Sanford & Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House for its first paid performance -- today's opening of the Broadway musical, The Light in the Piazza.

Like an anxious host anticipating the arrival of elegant company, Jesus Vazquez, the man presiding over construction of the Carnival Center, ticked off a list of chores to be tackled.

''We're doing a lot of final clean up, trying to make the building as ready as possible,'' Vazquez said, ``buffing and waxing floors, vacuuming carpets, cleaning all the curtains, wiping down the millwork, making sure all the stage equipment is running correctly for the performance.''

Vazquez said finishing touches on the $446.3 million center will continue through November as contractors complete a list of tasks, such as sanding down scratches, repairing wallpaper and patching up holes.

''The majority of the work has already been accomplished,'' Vazquez said. ``We're just fine tuning.''

FINISHING TOUCHES

While workers put the finishing touches on the Carnival Center, production crews unloaded four 18-wheelers containing elaborate sets of mid-20th century Florence, Italy -- the setting for the Tony Award-winning musical about an American woman who finds love in bella Italia.

Susie Krajsa, executive vice president of Broadway Across America, which is presenting The Light in the Piazza, said the Carnival Center compares favorably with other performance venues in the country.

''It's state-of-the-art, top notch,'' said Krajsa, who is also a member of the Carnival Center Trust, the volunteer board that oversees the center's operations.

Krajsa said subscription sales have ''gone very well and we have more than doubled what our subscription base was prior to moving into the new Carnival Center,'' though she declined to say precisely how many subscriptions have been sold.

The first of five productions in the Broadway Across America-Miami subscription season, The Light in the Piazza runs through Sunday; tickets range from $20 to $69.

The Broadway show is a pre-opening to the Carnival Center and its three venues -- the 2,200-seat John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall, the 2,400-seat Ziff Ballet Opera House, and the 200-seat Studio Theater.

The official grand opening takes place Oct. 5-8 and features a free public party, concerts, theatrical, ballet and opera performances, a black-tie gala and other events.

Carnival Center staff have been stretched thin preparing for the opening and the season thereafter, Gail Eaton, chief marketing officer, said.

''We're exhausted, but we're excited,'' Eaton said.

LOTS OF CALLS

She spent much of her day fielding phone calls from anxious patrons who wanted tickets, arranging marketing campaigns for future shows, and signing off on content about upcoming shows for the 21 plasma screens in the lobbies of the center's two halls.

Eaton said the box office's 27 phone lines, all of them manned, were busy for much of the day selling tickets to The Light in the Piazza but mostly answering patron questions such as where to park, how to get there and what to wear.

As many anticipate their first experience at the Carnival Center, though, others will look back fondly.

WAXING NOSTALGIC

Vazquez, the construction chief, waxed nostalgic about the project he has overseen since December 2000 for the partnership of builders contracted to erect the center: Odebrecht Construction, The Haskell Co., and Ellis-Don Corp.

''It's very sentimental,'' he said. ``There's a history behind every crack and crevice in the building, and you start to reminisce about that.''

umiami305

September 27th, 2006, 05:43 AM

Pictures taken 9/25/2006

Carnival Center(PAC)
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k253/umiami305/DSC04278.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k253/umiami305/DSC04280.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k253/umiami305/DSC04282.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k253/umiami305/DSC04388.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k253/umiami305/DSC04387.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k253/umiami305/DSC04424.jpg

Roark

September 28th, 2006, 06:33 AM

Great pics 305 :cheers:
I'll say it again! I love that architecture! Just because it isn't painted up with makeup and it doesn't have fake implants...er..."architectural features", doesn't mean it isn't a beautiful and elegant lady.
When you stand near it, you know that it isn't screaming out to the LCD, "Please look at me, I need attention!"
I love the complex angles, and the uniqueness...it really begs everyone to learn, appreciate, and get on the inside.
The inside is were the function lies. What a masterpiece.

Toucano

September 28th, 2006, 04:19 PM

Yeah, I must say that now that I have seen the inside of the building, It's starting to grow on me...

Miaminole

September 29th, 2006, 12:31 AM

The PAC looks amazing at night. All the lights on it really makes it look spectacular.

ChannelsideTitle

September 29th, 2006, 10:14 AM

Can someone take a picture of the PAC at night? :)

jamesgood72

October 1st, 2006, 02:35 AM

Here's a quick one from just now :

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/1603/dsc04910sz0.jpg

-James.

900Biscayneguy

October 1st, 2006, 06:57 AM

James - Amazing shot!!!!

ChuckScraperMiami#1

October 1st, 2006, 08:20 AM

JAMES is GOOD !!!, wow, I love it, MIAMI is Now # 1 with the Best Performing Arts Center in the Nation. We are Back in force, Next The SuperBOWL in Miami,
CNN film us now !!!

Thanks again James !!!, Keep Flying HIGH !!!

ChannelsideTitle

October 1st, 2006, 09:30 AM

Wow thanks! What an amazing site! I love how it's lit up at night! Great Job!

jamesgood72

October 2nd, 2006, 06:10 PM

Thanks guys.

Anyone know what the temporary structure to the North of the PAC is? The white tent? It's gone up in the past week. It looks like it's on the Citysquare residential site.

-James.

umiami305

October 3rd, 2006, 07:51 AM

jamesgood72

October 6th, 2006, 04:15 AM

Hello. Here's some shots from the grand opening hoohar that was this evening.

More on my Flickr page at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesgood/sets/72157594314710253/detail/

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/4381/dsc04946zm5.jpg

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/904/dsc04960zw7.jpg

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/8781/dsc05019ql0.jpg

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/4939/dsc05010ho2.jpg

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4784/dsc05038xf6.jpg

Bobdreamz

October 6th, 2006, 05:25 AM

great shots james!

Pablo63090

October 6th, 2006, 06:05 AM

Beautiful! Just Beautiful!

kevinkagy

October 6th, 2006, 10:34 PM

Awesome photos! Thanks!

Roark

October 7th, 2006, 01:45 AM

jamesgood72, An amazing picture. I saw the tent also. Im not sure of the details on it. If I had to guess, it will be some kind of after party, reception type tent. It would be nice to have restaurants, lounges, and retail options around the Carnival Center for its guests to mingle at once leaving performances. Right now they leave the Carnival Center and head straight for the cars. Hurry up CitiSquare!!!I'm going tomorrow night! The receptions are likely in those tents. It is very exciting.
Karu & Y is absolutely spectacular and only a few blocks from CCPA. Although, I couldn't get in last night (Gloria & Emillio Estefan rented the entire place), It compliments the performing arts center very very nicely!! It's an exquisite restaurant/lounge/event space and they've just bought 6 of those Mercedes wagon-looking gizmos to shuttle people to and from the CCPA.
http://www.karu-y.com/
James...once again, excellent photographs.

arch photographer

October 8th, 2006, 08:28 AM

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/4655/img1857dw2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/286/img1757em4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/7113/img1852zz8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7913/img1861fb2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Oooo. It's so good, it's so good, it's so good.

ChuckScraperMiami#1

October 9th, 2006, 02:22 AM

TO James is GOOD and ARCH !!!
thanks for such Great Pictures of Our FUTURE !!!

we all here in MIAMI are very lucky to have this TIME in History of the ARTS and growing 30 plus Tall towers under construction just in the Downtown Miami Brickell Area, and to the North Uptown Midtown where another 20 tall towers are under construction,

Please my friends Post more of these Great PICS,

God Bless MIAMI !!!

and Go Cranes !!!

jamesgood72

October 19th, 2006, 02:52 PM

Thanks guys,

Nice pictures there Arch. Here's one with the wonderful sunset from last night (and this is straight out of the camera, no photoshopping) :

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2113/dsc0531220061018mx8.jpg

-James.

BornInTheGrove

October 19th, 2006, 05:49 PM

very nice! =)

rider_of_rohan

October 19th, 2006, 06:07 PM

OMG James that is fantastic. Is that from your condo??? Heck whatever its a great view :).

jamesgood72

October 19th, 2006, 06:45 PM

Thanks guys. Rider, yes it's from the Plaza Venetia condo. Can you imagine that picture if the PAC was on Watson Island, surrounded by water, with downtown in the background?! That would be a world class view... As it is, I guess next year we'll be seeing a Bestbuy or something right next to it...

-James.

Paul305

October 19th, 2006, 08:03 PM

Nice pic James! This is probably the third pic that you have taken that I have set as my desktop wallpaper.

havok100

October 20th, 2006, 05:22 AM

I really like how the Carnival Center turned out, at night it is beautiful. The more I drive by it the more it grows on me. Great pics arch photographer.

Sunstorm

November 1st, 2006, 09:11 PM

When this building was first coming out of the ground, I didn't know what to think. But, I now have to admit that this is one beautiful building. I guess Pelli did know what he was doing after all. lol The night shots are especially gorgeous!!

Roark

November 2nd, 2006, 12:34 AM

I'm off to see Aida tonight! It's my third trip there for different shows, what a great treasure to have in the neighborhood!!! The building is amazing, and it sure as hell beats going to the movies!

dave8721

November 2nd, 2006, 05:48 PM

I'm off to see Aida tonight! It's my third trip there for different shows, what a great treasure to have in the neighborhood!!! The building is amazing, and it sure as hell beats going to the movies!

I'll be making my first trip there in December...for George Carlin. Different tastes I guess. The wife is having me go to an opera in February though :ohno:

Rx727sfl2002

November 2nd, 2006, 09:05 PM

GEORGE CARLIN IS HILARIOUS

LISTEN TO HIS COMEDY ACT FROM BACK IN 1980 WHEN REAGAN WAS IN OFFICE SOUNDS LIKE HE IS TALKING ABOUT BUSH....

Roark

November 2nd, 2006, 10:27 PM

I'll be making my first trip there in December...for George Carlin. Different tastes I guess. The wife is having me go to an opera in February though :ohno:Oh no is right!! The tastes are not that much different. I was there for the building!
My date invited me to the Opera, luckily the girl wasn't offended by my snoring.
Opening Night was spectacular with excellent parties. The other time was for the Cane Mutiny. Excellent book, Bogart flick, and decent play.
Plans for the next visit are for Chistopher O'Reilly, he's the cat the does Radiohead on a grand piano.

nimbyhater

November 2nd, 2006, 11:02 PM

that picture looks amazing... its unreal... looks photoshopped... truely amazing

brickell

November 3rd, 2006, 09:42 PM

Roark

November 3rd, 2006, 10:59 PM

I was there for Kathy Griffin in the Concert Hall. The sound was screwed in the boxes. I don't know if it was a glitch or a design flaw. Beware if you're going for comedy or spoken word though. Other than that and the bathrooms, everything else was amazing. Everyone needs to go at least once. Do yourself a favor and take the metromover. I think it was a human error glitch. The performance hall has louvres in the auditorium that are adjusted depending on the performance. It is the most state of the art systems in the world...maybe Kathy didn't bring her Louvre guy with her. :)

brickell

November 4th, 2006, 06:13 AM

yes I saw the louvers. i'm sure they work great with a symphony. this was one person on microphone however. All the speakers faced forward, with no amplified sound in the boxes.

nimbyhater

November 7th, 2006, 12:15 AM

i feel like kathy griffin doin something there is almost an insult to the center... some1 dropped the ball lettin her perform... that place cant just have any crappy comedian, wat next? carlos mencia?

cosby... robin williams... maybe even dane cook but not cathy griffin...

brickell

November 7th, 2006, 02:26 AM

She packed the place. Isnt' that the important part?

Maybe you just don't realize how popular she is among a certain segment of the population.

elisokool16

November 17th, 2006, 05:58 AM

im going to see a play at the theatre tomorrow, ill let u know how the inside looks

elisokool16

November 17th, 2006, 05:59 AM

DGM

November 17th, 2006, 08:18 AM

I've been there a few times, in fact my high school graduation was in it. The place is beautiful. It is a shame that it doesn't draw much public interest.

brickell

November 17th, 2006, 12:52 PM

I make it a point to attend at least one showing at the Gusman during the Miami Film Festival.

Roark

November 19th, 2006, 09:50 PM

by the way,do any of you know of the olympia / gusman theatre downtown. I've seen photos of it and it looks beautiful. It is in one of the very few cool historic buildings in downtown like the Alfred Dupont building and Ingraham Building There are way more than a few cool buildings in the Central Business District, the no doubt "The Jewel of Miami" is stunning.
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n215/restainer/GusmanTheatre_Theatre.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n215/restainer/GusmanTheatre_Reception.jpg

Rx727sfl2002

November 20th, 2006, 03:58 AM

IT WAS THE FIRST BUILDING IN SOUTH FLORIDA WITH AIRCONDITIONING

elisokool16

November 21st, 2006, 11:18 PM

ok well i went last friday to see a harlem / middle east rendition of king lear. It was pretty good but there was one problem: It was in the black box theatre! I was lucky enough to get a tour of the smaller of the large two operahouses. THe smaller is the one on the side west of biscayne blvd. It was beautiful with a sparkling gold roof. I was under the impression that our play would be there but it was actually in a crap theater with movable chairs placed on bleachers. Additionally, the lights that shown on the actors were often accidentally stepped on by them as they were on the floor and protroduded on the stage. Sitting in the first row, i could have kicked one myself, and many did step on them by accident. I was impressed with the interior of the arts center, just not my little theater

rider_of_rohan

November 21st, 2006, 11:53 PM

The Olympia/Gusman is beautiful

spellbound

November 22nd, 2006, 02:37 AM

Thanks for those pics of the Gusman, Roark. It's just a jewel...and preserved beautifully.

Bryan-Sereny

December 6th, 2006, 06:47 AM

spellbound

March 29th, 2007, 11:46 AM

Pretty sobering story about the PAC from today's Herald. Ticket sales have been 44% under projections....ouch.

Miami's arts center needs cash in a hurry
The Carnival Center for the Performing Arts will run out of cash by mid-May if cost overruns and low ticket sales continue, and the center likely will need supplemental funding.
BY DANIEL CHANG AND CHARLES RABIN
dchang@MiamiHerald.com

The Carnival Center for the Performing Arts, borrowing from its future to combat cost overruns and lackluster attendance, will run out of money by mid-May and needs a $4 million cash infusion to get through the budget year.

Center administrators have been using money from advance ticket sales to cover expenses. They said on Wednesday that they will ask Miami-Dade County commissioners for more money next month and have applied for a bank loan to pay bills and cover the costs of future shows.

If they don't get the money, administrators have a ''disaster plan'' ready that would close the $472.97 million center this summer for 30 days, lay off staff and liquidate assets, CEO Michael Hardy told The Miami Herald in a meeting Wednesday. The chances of the center closing are ''zero percent,'' Hardy said. ``But we'd be irresponsible if we didn't have [a plan].''

The most likely scenario is that the county, which owns the building, will make up the shortfall by allocating additional hotel bed tax money, County Manager George Burgess said. In the long term, Carnival Center administrators say they will cut costs and seek more funding through the bed tax and community redevelopment dollars.

Higher-than-expected costs for utilities, security, maintenance and insurance have led to a $3 million budget deficit through February, compared to the budgeted $150,000 deficit. Ticket revenues are 44 percent below projections.

In a meeting Wednesday with Miami Herald editors and reporters, representatives of the Carnival Center and Miami-Dade County emphasized future funding would come from four sources: ticket sales; donations; community redevelopment dollars; and bed tax money.

PAC Trust Chairman Parker Thomson called the center ''an unqualified artistic success'' and said attendance had been diluted by an overload of shows in an effort to reach the diverse South Florida community. ''We are not getting sufficient Hispanic attendance,'' he said.

The center, which includes the 2,400-seat Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House, the 2,200-seat John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall, and the 200-seat Studio Theater, is ''the most complex structure ever built here,'' Burgess said.

It's premature to sound alarms about the Carnival Center, he added, because it marks Miami-Dade's first attempt to operate and manage such a venue, and administrators are still learning.

''This thing is not even out of diapers yet,'' Burgess said.

Thomson and Burgess also said it was unfair to expect the Carnival Center to hit its budget for the first year because the initial numbers were based on comparisons to other performing arts centers.

''I think it's . . . way too early to hit the panic button,'' Burgess said. ``You're not going to know what the budget will be the day the facility opens.''

In its first year, the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach missed its budget by $500,000, said Director Judy Mitchell. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale was off by $100,000 to $200,000, according to then-Executive Director Bill Farkas.

To lower expenses, Carnival Center administrators, working with county officials, have rebalanced the air-conditioning system by adding temperature sensors to correct hot and cold spots. They also are looking for ways to cut security, engineering and maintenance costs.

Thomson said foundation members are working to shore up the Carnival Center's reputation. Their main priority: finding a long-term parking solution. The center has relied on valet parking and a network of surface lots and garages, but patrons have complained about hourlong waits for valet service and long walks from remote lots.

Hardy vowed not to repeat the mistakes of the Coconut Grove Playhouse, which closed last year with more than $4 million in debt and failed to refund money to season-ticket holders and pay staff and creditors.

Indeed, Hardy compared the center's opening and Miami's current growth to the building boom that saw New York City build Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, the Bronx Zoo and the subway between 1879 and 1899.

''It's our time,'' he said.

dave8721

March 29th, 2007, 04:26 PM

Part of the problem has been the booking of events that have no place in theaters that large. Shows like Aida, Swan Lake, the Nutcracker, Wicked, George Carlin...etc all filled the place up, the problem is when they book smaller acts. Take for example some events coming up:

-We have this guy: "Jojo Corvaia's multi-instrumental the breathing lessons will reveal more about bagpipes and bellows than anyone thought possible" (this one is in the smaller studio theater)
-We have a one man comedy show entirely in French
-Dave Winfields Baseball Music Project; seems well and good but I doubt it will sell out 2500 seats.
-A Sitar artist; again well and good but I dont see it selling out buildings that big
-A Flemenco artist; ditto
-Some thing called AntiGravity which looks like a ripoff of Blue Man Group plus Cirque du Soliel.

quefueuno

March 29th, 2007, 04:58 PM

the problem is that the area isnt populated yet. Once all these condos have tenants, you will see how people will use the place more often.

dach2k5

March 30th, 2007, 12:50 AM

This project is so poorly managed.

First, their budgets are hilarious. Did you know that they didn't budget a dime for external security?

Second, only in Miami would you build a $400+M facility and not add parking. These are the same folks that think they can build a stadium downtown and not add parking either. Parking is a mess. For the record, old rich people are rude as hell. I love how they cut in line for the valet and then act stupid, and then get offended when you point out to them that there's a line.

Third, the area is still extremely rough. It's going to take a good 5 to 10 years for there to be a decent about of retail development in the area to complement the facility (and the condos).

Finally, they just aren't booking enough high quality shows. See the post above for some examples.

At least... the facility itself is beautiful.

coruna

March 30th, 2007, 12:56 AM

I agree with you on most everything you just said......the project has had terrible management which has led to its failure in revenue.

It's a beautiful facility in an up-and-coming area. I think it would do somewhat better were it located in the CBD or Brickell, two more established areas with more retail, etc. that is already there.....it will take a few years for the retail to move northward into midtown like it is south of I-395.

But with regard to parking, they should have made an underground parking facility. We do not want any garages or surface lots, but they should have put at least one level of underground parking in. But don't forget, it is one way to encourage people to use mass transit, there is the Omni Metromover Station located less than a block from the PAC.....some people should use it.

They need to also get higher quality shows before they start seeing a profit. I think that in time it will happen and eventually the PAC will be a success but right now the management is terrible, and no matter how nice the surrounding neighborhood gets, the center will not do well with the type of management it has right now.

arch photographer

March 30th, 2007, 01:02 AM

Garages are not the enemy! Bad design is the enemy. Garages actually give architects a HUGE opportunity to get creative and innovative because they don't have to appease any residential clients. A city that needs parking garages should be a city with spectacular revolutionary structures, can anyone say 1111 Lincoln Road??

Daybreaq

March 30th, 2007, 01:20 AM

I think you all make valid points. My mom lives in Aventura; and her friends there complain about the parking so they prefer to go to the Broward Center for shows. Picking up your car from valet does take a long time. For me, at Brickell Key, the best way is to use a taxi both ways which is totally fine for me. I'd consider trying the Metro if there was a Brickell Key shuttle bus that ran at night ... and I mean late night since shows let out at 11:00 or so. Right now, I believe the shuttle stops at 6:00pm and only runs on weekdays. Still, I find the Carnival Center pretty convenient for me. I love it. I just wish there were some decent restaurants within walking distance of it. Then, I could go early, eat and walk to the theater. (Or even better, have a late dinner *after* the show which is my habit when I visit NYC.) Now I have to eat on Brickell Key or drive somewhere, then go home to park and call a cab. I think people living in the new condos in the CBD are going to find the Carnival Center really super convenient for them though.

So maybe the Carnival Center is a bit of a bomb for the current Aventura crowd; but I think it could still be a hit for the future downtown Miami crowd.

coruna

March 30th, 2007, 01:48 AM

All the people living in mainland Brickell, the CBD, or Midtown could use the metro....it doesn't go to Brickell Key but there are a few stations just west of Brickell Avenue between the Miami River and SE 14th Street.....but it's hard for you on Brickell Key with that bridge.

jamesgood72

March 30th, 2007, 02:04 AM

Daybreaq : BluMoon in The Grand is within walking distance, and worth a try. It's not fine dining, but it's quite nice, with good food, and only a 5 minute walk from the PAC. They label themselves as Italian & Mediterranean cuisine.

305-373-8188

-James.

spellbound

March 30th, 2007, 02:05 AM

I'm sure that residential developments will only help the bottom line in the future but the current numbers are pretty disturbing nonetheless.

Obviously, they really screwed up with the parking situation and it MUST be addressed. The transit options just aren't adequate for the great majority of people they hope to draw.

The thing I'd hate to see is for the PAC to have to go "low-brow" to attract an audience. Sure, I understand the economics where they have to try and turn a profit...and Miami undoubtedly has a pretty checkered past in supporting the arts (is there a bigger city without a permanent, resident orchestra?)...but I just hope the PAC's future isn't filled with things like a Hall & Oates reunion tour in lieu of challenging, original stuff.

(I just lost my appetite even thinking about Hall & Oates...:gaah:)

arch photographer

March 30th, 2007, 03:02 AM

There is a brand new Italian restaurant in the Grand called Via something. It has a window right there on the street. The food is really good. and not too expensive. I went for lunch and had the best Bolognese I have ever tasted. Its a tiny place and they have a very successful sister restaurant in NYC.

dave8721

March 30th, 2007, 08:43 PM

It always blows my mind when I see the huge line for Valet parking which I walk past to where I parked right next door (the lot just to the west which is never full) for half the price of valet.

brickell

March 30th, 2007, 09:15 PM

In my expereience also, people are learning about the free and sometimes plentiful parking on downtown streets and taking the mover over. The last show I attended had twice as many people on the metromover as the first one.

rider_of_rohan

April 2nd, 2007, 12:40 AM

Rx727sfl2002

April 2nd, 2007, 01:01 AM

miami has its own orchestra http://www.miamisymphony.org/

The Miami Symphony Orchestra is Dade County's flagship orchestra. Founded in 1989, the orchestra is now entering its sixteenth anniversary concert season. Under the new leadership of a highly regarded and renowned conductor, Eduardo Marturet, the orchestra will continue to represent the excitement and cultural vitality of our community.

The orchestra numbers more than 80 musicians, drawn from the finest orchestras around the world and throughout the United States. Its annual concert season includes 12 concerts performed at the Gusman Concert Hall in Coral Gables and the Lincoln Theatre on Miami Beach. Beginning in the summer of 2002, the orchestra will also present "Concerts in the Park" a series of pops concerts to take place at our community's excellent outdoor amphitheater facilities. Since 1997, the orchestra has presented an in-school, arts education program for elementary students of the Dade County Public Schools. This program is in keeping with the orchestra's tradition of community outreach throughout Dade County.

The highlight of the Miami Symphony Orchestra's performances to date has been the June 2000 concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The performance was the culmination of a goodwill trip undertaken in cooperation with the Beacon Council, the Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas. The concert was well received by audiences and critics alike and solidified the orchestra's role as a representative of Dade County's multicultural, artistic community.

ALSO The Cleveland Orchestra, among the world's finest, has ventured south to find financial support. Its winter home will be the Miami Performing Arts Center.

NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN New World Symphony IN SOUTHBEACH

http://www.nws.edu/