Annette Strauss Square is an outdoor performance facility in the
AT&T Performing Arts Center
The AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, Texas, preliminarily referred to as the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, is a $354-million multi-venue center in the Dallas Arts District for performances of opera, musical theater, classic and exp ...
, located in the
Arts District of
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
(
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
). It is the city's premier outdoor performing arts venue and a defining feature of the
Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park. Annette Strauss Square hosts a variety of outdoor events ranging from concerts to theatrical and dance performances to multi-day festivals, accommodating audiences of up to 5,000.
History
Artist Square opened in 1989 as a lawn and performance pavilion constructed by the City of Dallas. The $1.8 million project, one of the early venues in the growing Arts District, was temporary in nature and built as a public forum for local visual and performing artists who couldn't afford more elaborate venues. It consisted of a main stage, sloping lawn and a smaller platform stage set in a grassy plaza. The original plan called for a black box theater and a small artists' compound containing galleries and studio space, but these were never completed. The site regularly drew 200,000 visitors each year to concerts, dance events and festivals.
In 1998 the facility was renamed "Annette Strauss Artist Square" for
Annette Strauss
Annette Louise Greenfield Strauss (January 26, 1924 – December 14, 1998) was an American philanthropist and politician who served as the 55th mayor of Dallas. The Annette Strauss Artist Square in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas i ...
, the late former Mayor of Dallas who was a passionate supporter of the arts and the Dallas Arts District.
As the AT&T Performing Arts Center took shape, a new permanent facility (designed by architectural firm
Foster and Partners
Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide.
...
with Dallas based Good Fulton & Farrell serving as Architect of Record) was designed for the same general area. The original venue closed in 2005 and was rededicated "Annette Strauss Square" in the northwest corner of the new Center in September 2010.
[ ]
References
External links
Dallas Center for the Performing Arts websiteFact Sheet
{{Downtown Dallas
Buildings and structures in Dallas
Foster and Partners buildings