Tyler Morning Telegraph"On Wednesday, the Tyler Preservation Board got the first peek at architectural drawings that would be the basis for bringing the historic theater up-to-date.
The design is not final and will have to go before the city's parks board and City Council for approval. The Texas Historical Commission also will have to sign off on the plan, because of the theater's statewide designation as a historical site.
Major changes include removing two sections of seats and turning them into sloped grassy areas for blankets and lawn chairs, according to Steve Fitzpatrick, with Fitzpatrick Architects, the firm that created the design.
A section of 442 seats would be sandwiched between two sloped grassy areas - at the front of the stage and at the rear of the theater. Roughly 750 people would be able to sit on the grassy areas, bringing the total capacity to 1,192, Fitzpatrick said. The theater currently seats 1,700.
here are proposed changes intended to make the area safer for children. The sharp 5-foot drop from the stage to the seating area would be leveled out to create a grassy spot.
Instead of a sharp fall onto concrete, children who fall off the stage could actually roll down the hill without hitting anything, Fitzpatrick said.
The stage itself will be covered, with four iron ore columns holding up the structure. The columns will be made with WPA-era stones already in the amphitheater.
It will have a storage area on either side of the stage that can be used for equipment and an area to change theater costumes during a show.
The back stage wall would be retractable so it could be left open when the area is not in use, eliminating places where people could hide, Fitzpatrick said.
Sidewalks also would be added to make the area ADA compliant.
The WPA-built iron ore walls that surround the amphitheater would mostly be left intact and repaired. Tall sections of the wall at the back of the theater would be shortened from five feet to two feet, to allow more visibility of the stage. Other sections would be shortened to allow park goers to watch productions from outside the designated theater seating, and sections would be removed in select places to allow sidewalks to lead from the seating areas to the park's restrooms. Those also would ensure the park is handicapped accessible.
That rock would be meticulously removed and saved, Fitzpatrick said. Those stones would then be used to create four columns at the front of the stage.
Another major change includes adding a "grand entrance" into the theater, which would be visible from Broadway Avenue.
The four columns would each have historical plaques showing the history of the park and amphitheater.
The entrance would be west of Splasher, the dolphin water feature.
Splasher would stay, but the architects propose adding a seating area south of that area to create symmetry coming into the theater.
Behind the theater, Fitzpatrick recommends adding a concrete strip so trucks can drive directly into the park and unload equipment.
The renovations would be funded by a $325,000 donation from the Centene Foundation, which was approved by the Tyler City Council in January. In exchange, the company would receive naming rights for the stage.
Fitzpatrick said the firm would begin tabulating a concrete cost estimate for the project after the plans are approved, but the final price tag will likely exceed the donation. The city has not yet publicly discussed the source of the additional funding.
The improvements will be the first major changes to the theater since it was constructed in 1936.
The amphitheater is technically named the General Wood Amphitheater, even though it has never had overhead signage. It was a gift to the city from the Sears, Roebuck and Co. and was named after its president.
Historic plaques would honor the original donors and Centene.