Harris Theater for Music & Dance
Bringing the Finest Music and Dance to the Public
The Theater is an astonishingly beautiful place to listen to music. Its acoustics cradle sound like a velvet-lined jewel box.
Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Sun-Times
Location:
Chicago, Illinois
Client:
The Chicago Music and Dance Theater
Architect:
HBRA Architects
Size:
130,000 Square Feet
Year Completed:
2003
A contributor to the performing arts renaissance in Chicago, the Harris Theater has been acknowledged for its acoustics, site lines, proscenium and for providing a home base for numerous performing organizations.
In 2003, Clark delivered the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, a 1,525-seat theater for the performing arts located along the northern edge of Chicago's Millennium Park. The Theater is located adjacent to and below the new Millennium Park Band Shell and serves as the park's indoor performing venue, a complement to Jay Pritzker Pavilion, which hosts the park's outdoor performances.
The Harris Theater's foundation structure consists of poured-in-place concrete grade beams, caisson caps and walls. Since the bottom of the orchestra pit is 30 feet below the existing water table, the foundation work included a sophisticated de-watering system. Structural precast concrete girders and a structural steel framing system accommodate the catwalks in the theater and staging areas. Precast panels and structural glazed window walls adorn the façade.
The facility provides a venue for small- and medium-sized music and dance groups, which had previously been without a permanent home and were underserved by the city's performing venue options. Among the regularly featured local groups are Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Chicago Opera Theater.
