The Clemens Center is a concert and theater center in

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...

. It is named after

Samuel Clemens Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

, whose pen name was Mark Twain and was often resident in Elmira when writing his books. The Clemens Center partners with local educators through the Mary Tripp Marks School-Time Series to allow students to experience

live theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

Usage

According to its official website, more than 100,000

Twin Tiers The Twin Tiers are the collective counties that lie on the New York-Pennsylvania border on either side of the 42nd parallel north. The region is predominantly rural and contains many small towns. Separately, the two halves of the Twin Tiers regi ...

residents attend more than 100 professional and community performances in its facilities each year. It is run by a board of Trustees and more than 200 volunteers contribute nearly 10,000 hours each year working as ushers, concession operators, ticket takers, receptionists and Board/Committee members. It is home to the

Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes The Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes (OSFL) is an orchestra based in Corning (city), New York, Corning, New York in New York State, New York's Finger Lakes region and is part of the larger group known as the Corning-Elmira Musical Arts, Inc. ...

, where it performs the majority of its concerts.

History

The Powers Theater opened on December 21, 1925 as a 2,500 seat vaudeville and silent film house. Described as "the largest and most magnificent theater between

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and Buffalo," it contained a

Marr and Colton The Marr & Colton Company was a producer of theater pipe organs, located in Warsaw, New York. The firm was founded by David Jackson Marr and John J. Colton. The company built between 500 and 600 organs for theatres, churches, auditoriums, radio st ...

theater organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements o ...

, and featured extensive murals, opera boxes and chandeliers. In 1946 when the

Chemung River The Chemung River ( ) is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 in south central New York and northern ...

overflowed its banks, the theater was flooded causing extensive damage. It was flooded again in 1972 in the aftermath of

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, ...

that so devastated the region. Soon after, the building was targeted for demolition to accommodate a new highway. The Clemens Center organization was formed in 1975 to obtain and manage funding to save and preserve the theater. The theater reopened with its first performances coming in the Fall of 1977. This was mostly due to a citizens group which raised $750,000 to save the facility. The funds were used to make alterations that reduced the theater's

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

by almost 600 seats and upgraded the stage lighting and audio systems. In 1987, the 2,500-square foot Mandeville Hall was added as an intimate, multi-use "

black box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

" theater suitable for drama, recitals, community functions, lectures and seminars. In 1995, a Facilities Master Plan was created to guide the organization in maintaining and improving the facilities. 1999 saw completion of the first phase, which included renovating and expanding the lobby space to include amenities such as restrooms, an elevator, concessions and a coat check. The second phase, completed in 2008, saw the restoration and expansion of the Powers Theater. The Clemens Center also leases space to various community performing arts organizations in the area.

References

External links

* {{Mark Twain, state=collapsed Buildings and structures in Elmira, New York Performing arts centers in New York (state) Tourist attractions in Chemung County, New York