Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts
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The Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts is the main venue for the performing arts in Raleigh, North Carolina. The naming rights are currently held by Progress Energy, which purchased them in 2005 for a 20-year term at a price of $7.5 million. Naming rights to the facility were originally purchased in 1997 by BTI Telecom, which was acquired by ITC Deltacom in 2003. From 1997-2005, the facility was known as the BTI Center.
The facility consists of:
- Raleigh Memorial Auditorium (opened 1932)
- Meymandi Concert Hall (opened 2001)
- A. J. Fletcher Opera Theater (opened 2001)
- Kennedy Theater (opened 2001)
- Lichtin Plaza (opened 2001)
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[edit] Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium replaced the 1912 City Auditorium, which burned in 1930, and commemorated residents of Raleigh who died in World War I. It is an architectural complement to the North Carolina State Capitol at the other end of Fayetteville Street. After receiving minor improvements in 1963 and 1977, it was extensively renovated in 1990, notably with the addition of an external concourse and lobby. Seating 2,277, it most often hosts large musical theater productions. The 2005 removal of the original Raleigh Convention and Civic Center restored the continuity of view from Memorial Auditorium to the State Capitol.
[edit] Meymandi Concert Hall
Memyandi Concert Hall seats 1,700 in the classic shoebox configuration. It is the home of the North Carolina Symphony, which previously played in Memorial Auditorium. Named for a Raleigh physician and philanthropist, Dr. Assad Meymandi, the facility has excellent acoustics.
[edit] Fletcher Opera Theater
Flecther Opera Theater seats 600 providing a more intimate space for chamber music, solo performances, and other ensemble productions. It is named for Alfred Johnston Fletcher, 1887-1979, a pioneer of television broadcasting in Raleigh, whose family foundation provided partial funding.
[edit] Kennedy Theater
Seating 170, the Kennedy Theater provides a 40 x 60 foot black-box experimental theater setting. It was named for longtime Raleigh theater patron K.D. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife Sara Lynn.
[edit] Lichtin Plaza
Lichtin Plaza is a two-acre feature fronting the Progress Energy Center. It serves as a venue for festivals, gatherings, and tented social functions. It was named for Harold Lichtin, a prominent commercial real estate developer in the Triangle.
[edit] External links
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