City Unveils New Sterling Plans
The City today unveiled a new design plan for a restored interior of the Sterling Opera House that calls for a 400 seat auditorium as the center of a new "community" facility that would also include office space that could be used for a variety to community activities. The plans would also make the building handicapped accessible, and brings with it a price tag in the $3-5 million dollar range compared to much higher estimates for the full restoration envisioned in some earlier plans.
Under this new design prepared for the city by MOS architects from New Haven, the large original stage would be scaled down and the space saved would help create a new entrance to the performance area of the building from the side near where the police department once had an entrance. There would also be access to the first floor office space through the main entrance in the front of the building along Elizabeth Street. The large grand staircase that was once the entrance to the theater will be retained, but not used as an entrance. We'll have more to report on the plan in the next couple of days as the city releases more details. At this point in time, this is a concept and funding is not in place to move forward with construction. Earlier this year, the city completed most of the exterior work on the building with the restoration of the large cupola at the top of the building.
Story posted on September 20, 2011 |
