Guthrie Theater
Right around 1960, civic leaders supported a series of enhancements which transformed Minneapolis, physically and in the mindsets of its citizens. These ranged from opening a new jet-age airport, to visionary downtown planning, urban renewal, star-quality architecture, and the attraction of major league teams, especially the Twins and Vikings. Some if not all of these improvements were accomplished in other American cities. But Minneapolis had one more card up its sleeve: establishment of a national repertory theater, which was initially headed by the brilliant director Tyrone Guthrie.
Guthrie Theatre's success demonstrated what thoughtful observers already knew: Minneapolis-area citizens were unusually sophisticated, especially for what was then considered an out-of-the-way place in flyover land. Over the past four-plus decades, Guthrie attendance has varied depending on audience reactions to the productions of its subsequent directors, but the institution is solid, probably eternal.
The original Guthrie Theatre, designed by Ralph Rapson, was a wonder of creative economy, completed for less than $10 million in present-day dollars. A brilliant chimera on the outside, its signature shadow-box was shaved off a decade later, diminishing the exterior to an unremarkable glass box. Since the budget would not support a traditional proscenium stage, Rapson devised a less-expensive thrust stage plan, which brought the actors into startling proximity with the audience.
A new Guthrie was opened in the West Bank Mill District in 2005. Unlike the first facility, budget was apparently no restraint, and this three-stage design, by French starchitect Jean Nouvel dominates its surroundings, even the river gorge. Almost certainly, its presence has contributed to the proliferation of lofts along 2nd Street.
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