Clemens Center

Last updated
Clemens Center
Address207 Clemens Center Parkway
Elmira, New York
United States
Coordinates 42°05′22″N76°48′19″W / 42.089573°N 76.805411°W / 42.089573; -76.805411 Coordinates: 42°05′22″N76°48′19″W / 42.089573°N 76.805411°W / 42.089573; -76.805411
OwnerChemung County Performing Arts, Inc.
Type performing arts center
Capacity Powers Theater: 1,618
Mandeville Hall: 200
Construction
OpenedDecember 21, 1925
Reopened1977
Website
www.clemenscenter.com

The Clemens Center is a concert and theater center in Elmira, New York. It is named after Samuel Clemens, 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.

Elmira, New York City in New York, United States

Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.

Contents

Usage

According to its official website, more than 100,000 Twin Tiers residents attend more than 100 professional and community performances in its facilities each year. [1] 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. [1]

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.

It is home to the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, where it performs the majority of its concerts. [2]

The Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes (OSFL) is an orchestra based in Corning, New York in New York's Finger Lakes region and is part of the larger group known as the Corning-Elmira Musical Arts, Inc. (CEMA). It is currently conducted by Toshiyuki Shimada. It often holds concerts at the Clemens Center in Elmira and the Corning Museum of Glass. It also has a companion Youth Orchestra, the Youth Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes.

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 and Buffalo," it contained a Marr and Colton theater organ, and featured extensive murals, opera boxes and chandeliers. [1]

New York City Largest city in the United States

The City of New York, usually referred to as either New York City (NYC) or simply New York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2018 population of 8,398,748 distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass and one of the world's most populous megacities, with an estimated 19,979,477 people in its 2018 Metropolitan Statistical Area and 22,679,948 residents in its Combined Statistical Area. A global power city, New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, and exerts a significant impact upon commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. The city's fast pace has inspired the term New York minute. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy.

Buffalo, New York City in Western New York state, US

Buffalo is the second largest city in the U.S. state of New York and the largest city in Upstate New York. As of 2018, the population was 256,304. The city is the county seat of Erie County and a major gateway for commerce and travel across the Canada–United States border, forming part of the bi-national Buffalo Niagara Region.

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 stations, and homes.

In 1946 when the Chemung River overflowed its banks, the theater was flooded causing extensive damage. It was flooded again in 1972 in the aftermath of Hurricane Agnes that so devastated the region. Soon after, the building was targeted for demolition to accommodate a new highway. [1]

Chemung River river in the United States of America

The Chemung River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately 46.4 miles (74.7 km) long, in south central New York and northern Pennsylvania in the United States. It drains a mountainous region of the northern Allegheny Plateau in the Southern Tier of New York. The valley of the river has long been an important manufacturing center in the region but has suffered a decline in the late 20th century.

Hurricane Agnes Category 1 Atlantic hurricane in 1972

Hurricane Agnes was the second tropical cyclone and first named storm of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. Agnes developed on June 14 from the interaction of a polar front and an upper trough over the Yucatán Peninsula. Initially forming as a tropical depression, the storm headed slowly eastward and emerged into the western Caribbean Sea on June 15. Once in the Caribbean, the depression began to strengthen, and by the following day, it became Tropical Storm Agnes. Thereafter, Agnes slowly curved northward and passed just west of Cuba on June 17. Early on June 18, the storm intensified enough to be upgraded to Hurricane Agnes. Heading northward, the hurricane eventually made landfall near Panama City, Florida late on June 19. After moving inland, Agnes rapidly weakened and was only a tropical depression when it entered Georgia. The weakening trend halted as the storm crossed over Georgia and into South Carolina. While over eastern North Carolina, Agnes re-strengthened into a tropical storm on June 21, as a result of baroclinic activity. Early the following day, the storm emerged into the Atlantic Ocean before re-curving northwestward and making landfall near New York City as a strong tropical storm. Agnes quickly became an extratropical cyclone on June 23, and tracked to the northwest of Great Britain, before being absorbed by another extratropical cyclone on July 6.

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 by almost 600 seats and upgraded the stage lighting and audio systems. [1]

Seating capacity 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 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 seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. The largest sporting venue in the world, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has a permanent seating capacity for more than 235,000 people and infield seating that raises capacity to an approximate 400,000.

In 1987, the 2,500-square foot Mandeville Hall was added as an intimate, multi-use "black box" 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. [1] 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.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2012-02-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ "Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes". Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
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