The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is a performing arts venue located at 777 North Tamiami Trail,

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

neighboring the

Sarasota Bay Sarasota Bay is a lagoon located off the central west coast of Florida in the United States. Though no significant single stream of freshwater enters the bay, with a drainage basin limited to 150 square miles in Manatee and Sarasota Counties, it ...

. The main theater of the facility contains 1,741 seats.

History

The initial construction of the 1,736-seat hall was partly funded by a bequest from local residents Lewis and Eugenia van Wezel. The architectural design was carried out by

William Wesley Peters William Wesley Peters (June 12, 1912 – July 17, 1991) was an American architect and engineer, apprentice to and protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright. Early life Wes, as he was known to friends and associates, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on Jun ...

, of

Taliesin Associated Architects Taliesin Associated Architects was an architectural firm founded by apprentices of Frank Lloyd Wright to carry on his architectural vision after his death in 1959. The firm disbanded in 2003. It was headquartered at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, A ...

, who used seashells as inspiration for the design. The purple and lavender color scheme was suggested by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

's widow,

Olgivanna Lloyd Wright Olgivanna Lloyd Wright (born Olga Ivanovna Lazović; December 27, 1898 – March 1, 1985) was the third and final wife of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, whom she met in November 1924. The two married in 1928. In 1932 the couple founded Wright's ar ...

. The Henry C. Beck Company was general contractor for construction of the hall.

References

External links

Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Concert halls in Florida Buildings and structures in Sarasota, Florida Tourist attractions in Sarasota County, Florida Theatres in Florida Theatres completed in 1969 {{Sarasota, Florida