Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences

Last updated
Imperial Centre for the Arts & Sciences
Imperial Centre for Arts and Sciences Logo.png
Imperial CentreRM.jpg
Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences
Established2005 [1]
Location270 Gay St, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States
Coordinates 35°56′49.1″N77°47′55.0″W / 35.946972°N 77.798611°W / 35.946972; -77.798611
Website imperialcentre.org

The Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences is an art and science museum in Rocky Mount, North Carolina that includes the Maria V. Howard Arts Center, Rocky Mount Children's Museum and Science Center, Cummins Planetarium (currently closed), and a community theater. Currently the museum hosts science and art exhibitions, theater performances, art classes and workshops, as well as community events. [2] [3]

Contents

The facility is located on a 135,000 sf site within the former facilities of the Imperial Tobacco Company, of Great Britain and Ireland, The company had been a leader in the N.C. tobacco industry from the late 19th century, for about 65 years.

The tobacco company's 180-foot overhead steel conveyor, 80-foot water tower, and 90-foot brick chimney all remain, and are incorporated in the museum's logo.

Background

The museum site combines the former sites of the city's former Braswell Memorial Library and the Imperial Tobacco Company. While Imperial Tobacco constructed numerous facilities, from 1903 to 1923, from warehouses to curing furnaces, the building that is now the Imperial Centre itself, formerly known as the McDonald Building, housed the company's ordering operations as well as its hand and machine stemming work, where the central vein or stem of harvested tobacco leaves were removed. The company had ended all its operations by the 1980s.

When Hurricane Floyd inundated Rocky Mount in September 1999, many of the city's cultural facilities were destroyed, including its downtown Children's Museum and Arts Center as well as the Playhouse community theater in the Nashville Road area. Rocky Mount chose to recreate a new facility at the Imperial Tobacco site. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greensboro, North Carolina</span> City in North Carolina, United States

Greensboro is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 302,296 in 2023. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte and Raleigh, and the 69th-most populous city in the United States. The population of the Greensboro–High Point metropolitan statistical area was estimated to be 789,842 in 2023. The Piedmont Triad region, of which Greensboro is the most populous city, had an estimated population of 1,736,099 in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Wake County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the United States, with Cary and Raleigh being the 8th- and 15th-fastest growing communities, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Mount, North Carolina</span> City in northeast North Carolina

Rocky Mount is a city in Nash and Edgecombe counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 census, making it the 20th-most populous city in North Carolina. The city is 45 mi (72 km) east of Raleigh, the state capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarboro, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Tarboro is a town located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 10,721. It is the county seat of Edgecombe County. The town is on the opposite bank of the Tar River from Princeville. It is also part of the Rocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids CSA. Tarboro is located near the western edge of North Carolina's coastal plain. It has many historical churches, some dating from as early as 1742.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winston-Salem, North Carolina</span> City in North Carolina, United States

Winston-Salem is a city in and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the United States. The population of the Winston-Salem metropolitan area was estimated to be 695,630 in 2023. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina's Piedmont Triad region, home to about 1.7 million residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilmington, North Carolina</span> City in North Carolina, United States

Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, in southeastern North Carolina, United States; it is also the county seat. With a population of 115,451, it is also the eighth-most populous city in the state and the principal city of the Wilmington, NC, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender counties. As of 2023, its metropolitan statistical area had an estimated population of 467,337.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenville, North Carolina</span> City in North Carolina, United States

Greenville is the county seat and most populous city of Pitt County, North Carolina, United States. It is the principal city of the Greenville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the 12th-most populous city in North Carolina. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain. As of the 2020 census, there were 87,521 people in the city. The city has continued to see a rapid population increase and an economic boom with most of the growth being seen in the 20th and 21st centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durham, North Carolina</span> City in North Carolina, United States

Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 census, Durham is the fourth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 70th-most populous city in the United States. The city is located in the east-central part of the Piedmont region along the Eno River. Durham is the core of the four-county Durham–Chapel Hill metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 608,879 in 2023. The Office of Management and Budget also includes Durham as a part of the Raleigh–Durham–Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area, commonly known as the Research Triangle, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Newport University</span> Public university in Newport News, Virginia, US

Christopher Newport University (CNU) is a public university in Newport News, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1960 as Christopher Newport College, an extension school of the College of William and Mary for mid-career working professionals, members of the military, and non-traditional students in and around the Newport News area of the Hampton Roads region. The university has since expanded into a residential college for traditional students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auraria Campus</span> Academic campus in Denver, Colorado, home to three higher education institutions

Auraria Campus is an educational facility located near downtown Denver, Colorado in the United States. The campus houses facilities of three separate universities and colleges: the University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver (CCD), and Metropolitan State University of Denver. In 2017, there were approximately 54,812 students between the three schools, with rapid growth projected over the following few years. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and declining enrollment, the collective student population in 2022 was approximately 38,000, with an additional 5,000 faculty and staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Nebraska at Kearney</span> Public university in Kearney, Nebraska, U.S.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) is a campus of the public University of Nebraska system and located in Kearney, Nebraska. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney.

WRQM is a radio station broadcasting National Public Radio (NPR) programming. Licensed to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and owned by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, it serves the Rocky Mount area as a full-time satellite of WUNC-FM in Chapel Hill. The station has been owned by WUNC since 1999 and operated as a straight simulcast of WUNC since 2001, though for its first seven years it was an independent public radio station based in Rocky Mount.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina Wesleyan University</span> Methodist university in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, US

North Carolina Wesleyan University (NCWU) is a private Methodist university in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It was founded in 1956. North Carolina Wesleyan offers courses at its main Rocky Mount campus, as well as satellite locations in Brunswick, Durham, Goldsboro, Greenville, Manteo, New Bern, Raleigh, Washington, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts</span> Art museum in Richmond, VA

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the support of specific programs and all acquisition of artwork, as well as additional general support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Tampa</span> Neighborhood in Hillsborough, Florida, United States

Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of San Antonio</span>

The culture of San Antonio reflects the history and culture of one of the state's oldest and largest cities straddling the regional and cultural divide between South and Central Texas. Historically, San Antonio culture comes from a blend of Central Texas and South Texas (Southwestern) culture. Founded as a Spanish outpost and the first civil settlement in Texas, San Antonio is heavily influenced by Mexican American culture due to Texas formerly being part of Mexico and, previously, the Spanish Empire. The city also has significant German, Anglo, and African American cultural influences. San Antonio offers a host of cultural institutions, events, restaurants and nightlife in South Texas for both residents and visitors alike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coral Springs Center for the Arts</span> Theatre and art museum in Florida, US

The Coral Springs Center for the Arts is a modern style 1,471-seat theatre and art museum in Coral Springs, Florida. The facilities include a theater which hosts broadway shows and their home studio, Next Stop Broadway. The studio also hosts many audition workshops. The facility also hosts the Coral Springs Museum of Art, which features changing exhibits of works by nationally-recognized artists and Florida artists.

The Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas is a 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) art and science museum located at 701 Main Street in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. It includes four galleries, a 232-seat theatre, classroom space, administrative offices, vault and adequate preparatory and conservation space for the Center's current programming efforts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids combined statistical area</span> CSA in North Carolina, United States

The Rocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids Combined Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of five counties in northeastern North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the CSA had a population of 310,416, with an estimated population of 297,726 in 2018. The statistical area includes the Rocky Mount Metropolitan Statistical Area, Wilson Micropolitan Statistical Area, and Roanoke Rapids Micropolitan Statistical Area, and the counties of Nash, Wilson, Edgecombe, Halifax, Northampton.

References

  1. Handgraaf, Brie (February 28, 2012). "1985 - 2010: New dynamics drive change". Rocky Mount Telegram . Archived from the original on September 1, 2014.
  2. "City employee tapped to lead Imperial Centre". Rocky Mount Telegram . September 10, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  3. "Imperial Centre for the Arts & Sciences". NC Weekend. June 4, 2014. UNC-TV . Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  4. "The History Behind the Rocky Mount Imperial Centre". Rocky Mount Review. November 13, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2019.