The Jerusalem Center for the Performing Arts

The Jerusalem Theatre ( he, תיאטרון ירושלים, The Jerusalem Centre for the Performing Arts) is a centre for the

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The theatre opened in 1971. The complex consists of the Sherover Theatre, which seats 950, the Henry Crown Symphony Hall (home of the

Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (Hebrew: התזמורת הסימפונית ירושלים, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Simfonit Yerushalayim'') is a major orchestra of Israel. Since the 1980s, the JSO has been based in the Henry Crown Symphony Hall, part of ...

) with 750 seats, the Rebecca Crown Auditorium, with 450 seats, and the Little Theatre with 110 seats. Changing art exhibits are held in the main foyer and other spaces in the building, and a restaurant and bookshop operate on the ground floor.

History

In 1958, the

Jerusalem Municipality The Jerusalem Municipality ( he, עיריית ירושלים; Iriyat yerushalayim), the seat of the Israeli municipal administration, consists of a number of buildings located on Jaffa Road in the city of Jerusalem. History British Mandate ...

, headed by Mordechai Ish Shalom, held a design competition for a municipal theatre on a plot of 11 dunams (2.8 acres), on the southern edge of the

Talbiya Talbiya or Talbiyeh ( ar, الطالبية, he, טלביה), officially Komemiyut, is an upscale neighborhood in Jerusalem, between Rehavia and Katamon. It was built in the 1920s and 1930s on land purchased from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of ...

neighborhood. Architects Michael Nadler,

Shulamit Nadler Shulamit Nadler (, 1923-2016) was a prominent Israeli modernist architect best known for her design of the National Library of Israel. Life Shulamit Knibski was born in Tel Aviv on August 16, 1923 to Rachel and Yitzhak Kanev. Knibski trained ...

and Shmuel Bixson won first prize. The municipality also received a large donation from the Jewish millionaire Miles Sherover, who made his fortune in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. The cornerstone laying took place in October 1964. Despite plans to complete the building within two years, work progressed slowly due to disputes and budgetary problems. Critics claimed that the city had more pressing problems and predicted that the theatre would be a "

white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...

." The building was dedicated in October 1971. American millionaire

Lester Crown Lester Crown (born June 7, 1925) is an American businessman and is the son of Chicago financier Henry Crown (died 1990), who created the General Dynamics#Management churn, Material Service Corporation with two brothers in 1919, which merged with ...

, who had donated $9 million for a new sports stadium, in the

Shuafat Shuafat ( ar, شعفاط '), also ''Shu'fat'' and ''Sha'fat'', is a mostly Palestinians, Palestinian Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, forming part of north-eastern Jerusalem. Located on the old Jerusalem–Ramallah road about three miles no ...

area that was never built, was persuaded by Jerusalem mayor

Teddy Kollek Theodor "Teddy" Kollek ( he, טדי קולק; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 197 ...

to change the designation of the donation from sports to arts and culture. The money was used to build the Henry Crown Concert Hall, which seats 750, and the Rebecca Crown Auditorium, which seats 450. The planning and design of the new wing was carried out by the same architectural firm, so that the new wing, named for Crown's parents, was a natural continuation of the original design.

Architecture

The theatre combines sculptural elements of exposed concrete with traditional

Jerusalem stone Jerusalem stone (Hebrew: אבן ירושלמית; Arabic: حجر القدس) is a name applied to various types of pale limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite and Dolomite (rock), dolomitic limestone, common in and around Jerusalem that have been u ...

construction. It sits in a large public square that is used for outdoor concerts and other events.

Tenants

* Mrs. World 199

* Israel Priz

References

External links

Jerusalem Theatre website
{{Authority control 1971 establishments in Israel Theatres completed in 1971 Theatres in Jerusalem Culture of Jerusalem Buildings and structures in Jerusalem Tourist attractions in Jerusalem Performing arts centres Talbiya

History

Architecture

Tenants

See also

References

External links