They probably didn't even notice. Thousands of Taste of Cincinnati revelers packing Central Parkway on Memorial Day weekend likely were oblivious to the long shadow cast by the Emery Theatre.
Little has changed with the landmark building. Its bricks are worn. Paint peels from the awning over its Walnut Street entrance. Inside, the 1,800-seat auditorium is a darkened eyesore. For urban advocates and arts supporters who've grown frustrated with the failed attempts to renovate the Emery in recent years -- including a 1989 proposal to relocate the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) -- the theater remains a glaring symbol of status quo inactivity.
The Emery's stumbling soap opera should end later this month. On June 22, the University of Cincinnati (UC) board of trustees is scheduled to vote on a renovation plan by Indianapolis-based Mansur Development. For $9.7 million, Mansur proposes to convert the OMI College of Applied Sciences' portion of the Emery complex into 62 market-rate apartments and three floors of resident parking.
Mansur wants an 80-year lease from UC. Issues concerning project financing and leadership control still need to be resolved. Still, just two blocks away, inside the Main Street offices of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, Emery Center Corporation Executive Director Stuart Fabe confidently predicts UC's approval. It's surprising how the Emery stands on the verge of fast-track status. Its renovation has become economically feasible.
"Back in 1988 and 1989, it was all about culture," says Fabe. "This effort is a combination of culture and more market-driven issues like housing."
With UC approval, Emery housing construction could begin this fall, with a tentative completion date of summer 2000. That's good news for arts supporters who realize revitalizing the building will boost chances of reaching the $12 million fund-raising goal necessary for renovating the Emery Theatre.
It's a win-win situation. UC gains an improved asset. Over-the-Rhine (OTR) and downtown gain additional housing. The arts community gains a mid-sized theater.
For now electrical systems need to be upgraded. Worn-out plumbing needs replaced. The stage will be expanded. The priority is to secure the building envelope: repair the roof and prevent any more water pipes from bursting.
Despite the appearance of the theater, Robert Howes, chairman of the Corporation's theater operation committee, insists it's structurally sound. Better yet, its acoustics are still sparkling. There are plans to convert Cincinnati Ballet's former rehearsal space into a multipurpose room. Early drawings show a rooftop garden large enough for 300 people.
Now, after all wishful rhetoric about a rejuvenated Emery, it's finally time to talk about programming possibilities by organizations such as Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Men's Chorus and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. Stage house renovations will make the Emery compatible for opera, creating a second venue for Cincinnati Opera. Even the Cincinnati Symphony, says Howes, has long-range plans to be involved at a renovated Emery.
Praised by the local cultural community as a "pivot" in a proposed arts boulevard that would connect Music Hall and Ensemble Theater with the Main Library, Aronoff Center and a new CAC, the Emery's proximity to Main Street might invite vanguard performance groups who currently skip Cincinnati.
Few people ever expected Emery development plans to jump ahead of Cincinnati Pops Conductor Erich Kunzel's proposal for a new auditorium as part of his School for Creative and Performing Arts campus at Washington Park, adjacent to Music Hall. Time and momentum are currently on the Emery's side. In a city where many public works projects dissolve in controversial extravagance, the Emery is a sleeping giant that makes sense.
"All the talk about linking downtown and OTR together ..." says Fabe. "This will do it."
