The Washington state legislature approved dedicating $500,000 of the state’s budget to funding a new amphitheater in Volunteer Park, allowing the space to continually fulfill its role as a community gathering place on Capitol Hill, the Volunteer Park Trust community group announced.
“With the generous backing of our community, The Amphitheater Project will replace the current concrete and brick structure with a modern facility that will have a roof, storage and green room space, all-gender bathrooms, upgraded electrical access, and a resilient floor that will even accommodate dance performances,” the Trust announcement reads.
The new amphitheater will replace the current, crumbling concrete and brick structure, which has hosted performances, rallies, and events. CHS reported on a $900,000 grant for the project from the Seattle Parks District late last year.
State Senator Jamie Pedersen (D-43rd District) lead efforts to secure this funding, the Trust said. The state’s contribution has helped the amphitheater project close in on its $3 million goal, bringing the fundraising total to $2.3 million when combined with Volunteer Park Trust’s additional fundraising efforts.
According to the Trust, the design of the new amphitheater aims to synthesize necessary renovation with the parks historical identity. The new amphitheater’s modern appearance is planned to enhance the historic features of Volunteer Park’s Olmsted landscape, a characteristic integral to the park since its inception in 1904, while providing the community with a venue featuring better acoustics, protection from the elements, improved amenities for performers, ADA-compliant pathways, and a safer performance space.
Volunteer Park Trust’s efforts towards replacing the current crumbling amphitheater are coming to fruition, as construction of the new amphitheater is on track to begin in 2020, once fundraising efforts are met.
The old amphitheater, meanwhile, still has work to do. Saturday, it will host the annual Volunteer Park Pride Festival:
You can learn more about the project at volunteerparktrust.org/project/amphitheater/.
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I’m not seeing how this design could be less aesthetically pleasing.
It has a Northwest Modern æsthetic. Of the structures at the park SAAM is Art Deco, the conservatory is Victorian, the current bandstand is 1970s blecch. So there isn’t any one type of architecture for it to blend with, so I think going with innocuous architecture is a win here.
It’s a performance space that needs to project the sounds on the stage (typically unamplified for classical performances) over a large grassy area. Acoustics should be more important than aesthetics. Ideally both, but acoustics matter.
And yes, the jets on their way/to from SeaTac every 2 minutes will make any acoustic performances a challenge. I can think of only a few solutions:
1) MIMES
2) Morris Dancers or Shanty singers: repetitive enough that you’ll catch it the next time round
3) specially commissioned pieces with a pause every 2 minutes for the next jet,