The new marquee was illuminated at an event Thursday morning attended by Mayor Dwight Jones, Dominion CEO Tom Farrell and others. Photos by Jonathan Spiers.
With a tug of a big blue tarp, the curtain opened on a new era for the Richmond CenterStage complex, which was renamed Thursday as the Dominion Arts Center.
Signage for the center was unveiled Thursday morning in a ceremony that drew dozens of supporters and invited guests to the performing arts complex at 600 E. Grace St.
The new name has been added to the marquee above the entrance to the historic Carpenter Theatre and to signage on the adjacent complex that houses two other performance venues – Rhythm Hall and the Libby S. Gottwald Playhouse – and the Genworth BrightLights Education Center.
While all of the venues retain their names, they all make up what is now called the Dominion Arts Center – a name bestowed in recognition of the power company’s latest gift to the Richmond CenterStage Foundation: a $5.5 million grant commitment from the company’s philanthropic arm, the Dominion Foundation.
Jones, Farrell and Starke celebrate the unveiling.
The donation will be used to support operations, maintenance and physical improvements to the arts center complex. Janet Starke, executive director of Richmond CenterStage, said the donation is but the latest gift from Dominion, which she said has given more than $4 million to the foundation since 2007, including $2 million that helped renovate the Altria Theater in 2012. The theater’s stage was renamed the Dominion Stage as a result.
“I’m so grateful for Dominion’s generosity to Richmond CenterStage and to the arts in general,” Starke said during the ceremony. “They’ve been a great partner over the years, and I know they will continue to do so for years to come.”
Dominion CEO Tom Farrell said the company is committed to supporting the arts in Richmond and said the CenterStage complex has added to a rejuvenated Broad Street corridor.
“The arts, like most of our institutions, need to be nurtured and supported if they’re going to add value to the life of the community,” Farrell said. “We do not have Broadway in Richmond, but we do have Broad Street. And bit by bit, block by block, largely under the mayor’s leadership, Broad Street is becoming something special again.”
Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones noted the history of the Carpenter Theatre, which opened in 1928 as the Loew’s Theatre. Recalling a date he had at the movie theater in the 1960s, Jones said: “I don’t remember the film, but I remember the young lady.”
Jones said the complex became “a metaphor for a city that had lost its way” when it was shuttered in the 1970s. Noting its revival 15 years ago and reopening in 2009, through a public-private partnership between Richmond CenterStage, the city and the private sector, Jones added: “We are celebrating the fact that Richmond is no longer that city that has lost its way.
“We recognize today, with this gift from Dominion, that efforts like this cannot be done in isolation. They’ve got to be done with partnerships,” the mayor said. “The city can’t do it alone, and private enterprises can’t do it alone as well. We are very happy to be here today to say that Dominion once again has stepped up to the plate.”
The grant will be paid out over a 15-year period with a first payment of $700,000 and subsequent annual payments of about $345,000.
The new marquee was illuminated at an event Thursday morning attended by Mayor Dwight Jones, Dominion CEO Tom Farrell and others. Photos by Jonathan Spiers.
With a tug of a big blue tarp, the curtain opened on a new era for the Richmond CenterStage complex, which was renamed Thursday as the Dominion Arts Center.
Signage for the center was unveiled Thursday morning in a ceremony that drew dozens of supporters and invited guests to the performing arts complex at 600 E. Grace St.
The new name has been added to the marquee above the entrance to the historic Carpenter Theatre and to signage on the adjacent complex that houses two other performance venues – Rhythm Hall and the Libby S. Gottwald Playhouse – and the Genworth BrightLights Education Center.
While all of the venues retain their names, they all make up what is now called the Dominion Arts Center – a name bestowed in recognition of the power company’s latest gift to the Richmond CenterStage Foundation: a $5.5 million grant commitment from the company’s philanthropic arm, the Dominion Foundation.
Jones, Farrell and Starke celebrate the unveiling.
The donation will be used to support operations, maintenance and physical improvements to the arts center complex. Janet Starke, executive director of Richmond CenterStage, said the donation is but the latest gift from Dominion, which she said has given more than $4 million to the foundation since 2007, including $2 million that helped renovate the Altria Theater in 2012. The theater’s stage was renamed the Dominion Stage as a result.
“I’m so grateful for Dominion’s generosity to Richmond CenterStage and to the arts in general,” Starke said during the ceremony. “They’ve been a great partner over the years, and I know they will continue to do so for years to come.”
Dominion CEO Tom Farrell said the company is committed to supporting the arts in Richmond and said the CenterStage complex has added to a rejuvenated Broad Street corridor.
“The arts, like most of our institutions, need to be nurtured and supported if they’re going to add value to the life of the community,” Farrell said. “We do not have Broadway in Richmond, but we do have Broad Street. And bit by bit, block by block, largely under the mayor’s leadership, Broad Street is becoming something special again.”
Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones noted the history of the Carpenter Theatre, which opened in 1928 as the Loew’s Theatre. Recalling a date he had at the movie theater in the 1960s, Jones said: “I don’t remember the film, but I remember the young lady.”
Jones said the complex became “a metaphor for a city that had lost its way” when it was shuttered in the 1970s. Noting its revival 15 years ago and reopening in 2009, through a public-private partnership between Richmond CenterStage, the city and the private sector, Jones added: “We are celebrating the fact that Richmond is no longer that city that has lost its way.
“We recognize today, with this gift from Dominion, that efforts like this cannot be done in isolation. They’ve got to be done with partnerships,” the mayor said. “The city can’t do it alone, and private enterprises can’t do it alone as well. We are very happy to be here today to say that Dominion once again has stepped up to the plate.”
The grant will be paid out over a 15-year period with a first payment of $700,000 and subsequent annual payments of about $345,000.
The new sign is awful. It makes the theater look like a circus attraction. A beautiful building has been scarred by a garish tribute big business
The name is fine. The logo in it is not.
Never use a logo in a headline or title. It’s like using your monogram every time you refer to yourself in an email.
Dominion deserves credit for their generosity. The Carpenter Center should rethink the presentation of the title so that it reflects the same graciousness as Dominon’s gift.