After 10 years of careful planning and execution, the major renovation of Fort Wayne’s historic Arts United Center is complete and its reputation as state-of-the-art performance space restored.
The structure was designed for the city of Fort Wayne by renowned architect Louis Kahn and opened in 1973, featuring a performing arts theatre that has served as the home stage of the Fort Wayne Ballet and Fort Wayne Civic Theatre and regularly hosted dance competitions, community and civic events and more.
Kahn’s Arts United Center is his only commission of any kind in the Midwest, as well as his only theater commission in the world.
Here WBOI’s Julia Meek discusses the scope of this massive project with Arts United’s President and CEO Dan Ross, as well as its attention to patron experience and what this will mean for the entire community.
You can learn more about the organization at the Arts United website.
This is a transcript of our conversation:
Julia Meek: Dan Ross, welcome and congratulations on your major renovation.
Dan Ross: Thank you. It is so nice to be here with you, Julia.
Julia Meek: Now you have officially and quite grandly celebrated its reopening. Tell us, can you even believe this has happened?
Dan Ross
It has been quite a journey, and it is exciting to be at this point where we are today.
Julia Meek
Are you proud of all of yourselves and the space itself?.
Dan Ross
Oh my gosh, yes, the space is fantastic. Our team has worked so hard to bring this project to fruition. It's really exciting.
Julia Meek
And with a bright, bold vision, as you started out, and firm belief that art does unite us, you developed a master plan for all of this, starting in 2015 through 2017; you had to raise a lot of funds, we know all of that.
You actually started work in 2024, so a quick word on the historic structure itself. What made (makes) the Louis Kahn structure so very special?
Dan Ross: Well, this building is the only performing arts center that Louis Kahn designed in the entire world.
Julia Meek: How did we get so lucky?
Dan Ross: Isn't that amazing? [both chuckle] I think our community leaders, back in 1960 when they were exploring the idea of an arts campus in downtown Fort Wayne, they aimed high.
And they interviewed the who's who of architects, and they made the decision, and it was a very close decision, but they chose Louis Kahn. And I think it is such a wonderful gift to our community to have this remarkable architectural gem.
Julia Meek: So long and serving so many so well, indeed, Dan and okay, between physical aging and the techno advancement, how much of a leap was necessary to get everything from there, which was cutting edge in 1973 to here, now today, when it's anything but?
Dan Ross: It was a huge leap. In 1973 when that building opened, to your point, it was cutting edge theatrical technology.
But it was also opened pre-ADA, and the concept of accessibility just wasn't a priority for our community or anyone in our society at that time. Well, it is for us today.
So, for us, it was so important to make the theater accessible, but also to bring it back to that cutting edge technology that it had when it opened.
Julia Meek: And you had lofty and very necessary goals, then going forward, accessibility, technology, new spaces, patron experience and historic preservation, all weighty and very meaningful goals.
How much of a juggle was all that to keep all those balls up in the air while you were working on it?
Dan Ross: Yeah, that is a great point. So many goals all important. You know, to the point you made, they're all important.
It took a lot of careful planning on the part of our architects, our design team, but also our staff, so we spent a long time in the planning process to make sure we had really thought through what do we need to do to make this building serve this community in this day?
Julia Meek: Was it surprising to you, especially coming from your own staff, the things they thought of?
Dan Ross: We had a tremendous amount of input from a wide range of individuals. One of the groups early on in our planning process that we brought through the facility was the northeast Indiana Disability Advocacy Coalition.
And they provided us with just tremendous guidance, including the fact that, hey, this building doesn't have a family restroom for people who have adult children with disabilities.
So immediately that went on our list of priorities, the things that needed to be included. It was a very broad-based planning process seeking input from so many different constituency groups to make sure that we were really thoughtful in how we approach this.
Julia Meek: And working through a work in progress of that magnitude, what did that entail, just for you guys to keep going on day to day?
Dan Ross: Well, we completely stripped the building down to the bare bones, and it was really interesting to go through the building at that point in time. It was really down to just the concrete.
And then rebuilt it, all of the interior finishes, all new wiring, new conduit, new lighting, new sound systems, new everything. Making that transformation from what it was in 1973 to what it is today, it was really quite an amazing journey.
But at the same time, maintained the essence of Louis Kahn's architectural design, so that monumental structure that this building is, and the purity of his lines and what he wanted this building to be, that's all still there, but with technology and. patron-accessible amenities that weren't envisioned in 1973.
Julia Meek: So, you kind of have the best of all worlds at the time and the timing and the approach to this refurb.
Dan Ross: Yes, absolutely.
Julia Meek: Were there any surprises on the way, and were any of them good ones?
Dan Ross: Well, we had a couple of kind of fun surprises that maybe were a little challenging but just fun surprises.
So, as we were looking at the expansion we were doing on the west side of the building next to Freimann Square, one of the things that we found is that under where Barr Street used to run in between the building and Freiman square, there was a major sewer line dating back to the Civil War.
It was a fantastic amenity, still functioning well, and it's something that needed to be preserved.
So, we had to take into account in our construction and design plans to not disturb that three-foot Civil War-era sewer line and the Hagerman Construction team and MKM did a great job preserving that, making sure that it was still intact.
But also, when there was excavation happening for that West Side expansion, they found some of Barr Street was still under there, so it required a little additional excavation that they hadn't anticipated doing in order to build the West Expansion for us.
Julia Meek: And nobody likes even a minute's delay, so that had to be a little problematic, but otherwise, to have such a little piece of history sitting right there!
Dan Ross: Yeah, it was just a great connection to the history of this community.
The arts campus where it's located, really is at the heart of where Fort Wayne originated, and so yes, to see that little piece of history coming to life under what we're currently doing, fun to see.
Julia Meek: Indeed. And meanwhile, your community events over there at the Arts United Center are meaningful and many How could you, did you plan for that interim? Were you able to keep things going well, despite those obstacles?
Dan Ross: The planning for this renovation project has gone on for several years, as you know, and we worked closely with our partners to let them know what our timeline was, so that they knew about three years in advance when we were going to have the theater under construction so that they could plan accordingly.
And so, the Fort Wayne ballet, Fort Wayne Civic Theater, all the organizations that utilize the arch United Center made plans for what they were going to do for their season on the road.
It gave them an opportunity to establish some new relationships, explore some new venues. Fort Wayne is just such a great community.
And we appreciated the fact that the community recognized, hey, the arts United Center is going to be shut down, let's make sure that we can accommodate these other activities.
For instance, Chuck Surack had started on a project to renovate the Scottish Rite Theater, and he put off starting that project partially in order for that theater to be able to house some community events that needed a home while the Arts United Center was under construction, and I really appreciated his willingness to do that.
So, the Fort Wayne Ballet took their Nutcracker last year into the Scottish Rite. Also, Pearl Arts had just opened, so the ballet was able to do some of its performances at Pearl Arts.
Fort Wayne Civic Theatre utilized the Embassy Theatre and Foellinger Theatre and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. You know, they looked at a variety of spaces.
And again, I felt like the community came together in a way to say, okay, we have a challenge here during this season of construction, but it's going to be fantastic when it reopens. Let's work our way through it!
Julia Meek: Be a rally, yes.
Dan Ross: Absolutely. Now most people, even leaders, never get to study every single aspect of their physical plant, which you had to do under that proverbial microscope, if you will. Can you describe that sensation examining every square inch?
Dan Ross: It was an amazing opportunity to be able to look at this building and every square inch of it. I just have to give huge kudos to our staff, especially Miriam Morgan, our COO and her team, Luke Holliger.
They did such a fantastic job of working with MKM Architecture and Hagerman and our theatrical consultants, all the design team to really study this building, but to study what are our needs and what are the opportunities that we can bring into this.
t was, I would say, it's an incredible gift to have the opportunity to say, well, let's look at square one, and let's really evaluate what do we want to do here.
Julia Meek: And next up, chronologically, Covid messed with all of us back in 2020, pre-renovation, but mid-funder planning stages.
Your Ghost Light Campaign kept you in the public hearts and in the funding ideas and things, carrying that forward. Did Covid help or hurt or affect this at all?
Dan Ross: Well, it certainly affected. It. Covid, as you said, had such an impact on all of us.
One of the things I was just incredibly proud of, Arts United's board of directors for making the commitment to pivot from a capital campaign to raise funds for our own capital project to say we have an existential crisis for arts and culture in this community.
Our board of directors recognized the fact that Arts United needed to step up and focus its energy on ensuring that arts and culture continued past this crisis.
And the community really rallied around Arts United's commitment to initiate a Resilience Fund. We were able to very quickly raise $3 million that we were able to distribute to 18 core arts and cultural organizations.
So for about an 18-month period, our focus was really on ensuring that those 18 core organizations were able to survive. And I'm thrilled to be able to say that in this community, all 18 of those organizations stayed open.
They continued to do programming. It was a lot of virtual programming in those days, we'll remember, but all those organizations continued to function, whereas nationwide, that was not the case. It was really important, I feel, for our organization, to step into that role.
What I will say is that some of the donors who had already contributed to our capital campaign, we asked if they would be willing to allow us to transfer those gifts into the Resilience Fund, and they were happy to let us do that.
And then they came back and made gifts back to our campaign that were larger than they had been to begin with. So once we got past that Covid crisis and we really resumed our capital campaign in earnest, the community rallied around this project and supported it in a huge way.
Julia Meek: And through that new normal that followed, this community again, really did rally around your Art Unites Us campaign, a clever play on words and a wonderful, wonderful sentiment, especially following the whole Covid sequestering, which really got to a lot of people.
And you let them know they were not alone, because art does unite us. What did that really mean to you as an organization, to be able to carry it through the new normal and come out with even a stronger support base than you went into covid with?
Dan Ross: Yeah, that is such a great point, Julia. You know, our community really did rally around arts and culture as a unifying force during that pandemic.
And to your point, during the pandemic, we were all isolated. In fact, that was intentional. You know, in order to prevent the spread of this disease, we need to isolate.
And one of the great things about arts and cultural experiences are that they do bring us together. We wanted to do what we could to still bring people together even if we were physically separated.
That is where the concept of Arts unites us, as a campaign came about was, let's be together. Let's be with each other.
Let's utilize these arts and cultural experiences even if they're happening virtually, because that's all we can do today, but we can still come together with these shared experiences.
I do think it was meaningful for the community going through that time and then coming out of the pandemic, celebrating the ability to go live again.
And to be able to come back together in person and celebrate these arts and cultural experiences and do it safely and do it thoughtfully, but to come back together and be together as people.
Julia Meek: Fort Wayne is known as a city that saves itself, a resilient city, and the city that has so many wonderful organizations and artcentricities going on for a city its size.
How much do you feel that sentiment grew and strengthened from Covid to now?
Dan Ross: I think you're absolutely right. I think that the experience of being isolated and then the joy of coming back together, I remember coming back together for some of those first experiences.
Some of those first concerts back with the Philharmonic, some of those first times back in the arch United Center, seeing a live performance.
And I think people were genuinely thrilled to be able to experience those things together, live again. And I do think that we have built on that experience.
Julia Meek: So now you're going on almost two months, refurb's done, reopen's done. What's the consensus out there on the street? What kind of feedback and newfound interest are you enjoying over there in that beautiful space now that it's open?
Dan Ross: Well, it has been fantastic to be back inside the Arts United Center, I will say. We had just a wonderful grand reopening weekend.
Such a great celebration for the community, and it was fun to see the community come out and celebrate with us. But then the first show that was in was the Civic Theatre's performance of Frozen, and it was so beautiful.
I bought my tickets early, early for opening night so that I could be there, and I thought that the Civic Theatre did just such a fantastic job of utilizing the new technology, utilizing the new amenities in the building. It was an absolutely beautiful production.
And then following on that was the Fort Wayne Ballet, their performance of Nutcracker with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in the pit and the Fort Wayne Children's Choir singing. And that's another production I bought my tickets very early for opening night of that one as well, just because I wanted to be there and experience it.
And again, the production was beautiful. The backdrops were absolutely gorgeous, so colorful, and the new lighting systems are fantastic. Both of those were incredible experiences.
And of course, I am biased, but I loved every bit of that. But I've had so many people who've come up to me and shared that their experiences were the same, that they loved the beauty of the theater. They loved the new patron amenities.
Everyone loves the expanded women's restrooms, I have to get that in. [both laugh] That was one of the most important things that we did, we doubled the size of the women's restroom.
So many things that we've done to try to make the patron experience better. New concession areas that have really been very popular, again, the restrooms, but the expanded accessible seating options.
There are just so many things that we've done to try to make this a greater patron experience. Digital displays that provide lots of information about what's happening in the theater, a lot of things that make the experience so much more than it had been previously.
Julia Meek: And so much more than just a space to go see an event. You are in the space that is the event before you even get into the main stage where the event is taking place, that just must make your heart sing.
Dan Ross: Yeah, that's a wonderful description, and I agree with you. It's beautiful to enter the building and be in those lobby spaces, and it's so active and alive and people enjoying the experience. It's wonderful to be back in that kind of environment.
Julia Meek: And bottom line, Dan, this bold vision-turned-reality is for, from and about the whole community, as you have been indicating this whole conversation.
So, my last question, what would you like everyone to know about the state of our art scene and its glorious center and that art that unites us all?
Dan Ross: Well, through this project we've been working on, this community has shown its commitment to the value of arts and culture.
I am thrilled at the way this community has come together to support arts and culture in a significant way. And I'm incredibly grateful for that support. We're going to need that support to continue.
We're going to need that investment of the community to ensure that we have a Fort Wayne Ballet and a Fort Wayne Civic Theatre, Youth Theatre and Childre's Choir and Philharmonic, these wonderful cultural organizations that enrich the lives of our people but also enrich the economic vitality of our community.
It requires commitment and it requires investment. I'm excited and looking forward to 2026. Looking at what we're going to do as a community, what is Arts United's role in helping to push that forward and supporting arts and culture in a way that it can help this community continue to thrive and grow.
It's exciting to look to the future--can't wait to get it started.
Julia Meek: Dan Ross is President and CEO of Arts United. It's a pleasure to share your history, your adventure and this very story. Again. Congratulations and many blessings.
Dan Ross: Thank you. It's such a pleasure to visit with you, always, Julia.
