Chautauqua Amphitheater Comparison – 3rd vs 2nd Generation

The current Amp structure has many challenges because of age, size, configuration, dated infrastructure, and the demands of presenting a 21st century program in a 19th century building. The functional goals for the New Amp are to increase capacity and functionality, improve safety, inter-generational accessibility and sight lines, and bring the back of the house up to 21st-century standards. It was decided to keep the New Amp in its current location, while looking at a large excavation project to deliver these objectives. Specifically, the bowl will be approximately 7 feet lower in most areas and 15 feet lower in the orchestra pit; its perimeter will expand approximately 15 feet wider on each side. The New Amp replaces a facility of debatable architectural, structural, and functional merit with a wonderful building that will meet the future needs of generations of Chautauquans for years to come. We do not lose the Amphitheater. Everything that is good about it will be retained in the New Amphitheater. We keep; its size, its scale, and its intimate and open relationship to its surroundings. Aesthetically it will look and feel very much the same, inside and out, and functionally it will be superior.  The decision was made to change very little about its iconic form and presence except for the back stage areas.

Back of the Amp

Here is where the vast majority of physical changes to size, scale and function(s) take place. The current functionally obsolete space measures 6,246 square feet. The new back of the Amp (in 1893 it was called the front) will increase to approximately 21,000 square feet that allows for numerous and much needed improvements. Primary among these are; better dressing rooms, green room, storage areas, increased locker and office space, warm-up and staging areas for the performers, and a new loading dock and freight elevator. The concerns about losing the back porch should be alleviated as the back porch will only be changing into a back patio that will provide even better access to the speakers, guests and performers following presentations and programs. The design will create a very open, comfortable environment similar to the current Amp and we gain an upper level porch and more natural light in the process. Oh and by the way, did anyone even notice that the back of the new Amp looks more like the original version with a patio and an upper level porch, than the current version. Yeah I thought so. Let’s have another look below. The New Amp (L) and the 1908 Amp (R) after the Massey Organ was installed. There is however, no truth to the rumor spreading on the grapevine that one of the “Star” dressing rooms will be named the Justin Bieber Room.

 

 

Interior View

The Stage (Platform) will increase in size in both directions and a new orchestra pit large enough for 100 musicians will be added. The pit will feature a lift that can increase the stage size to better serve dance and other large productions or where additional benches can be placed when not in use. This will significantly improve sight-lines for those seated in the lower levels. The obvious choice was made to preserve the key structural elements of the Massey Memorial Organ and its surroundings, while making the organ more visible to audiences in the new Amp.

View to the Stage (Platform) and Massey Organ

There are approximately 4,063 seats in the Amp. The new Amp will have between 4,400 and 4,500 seats and will include 100 handicap-accessible seats, an equal number of companion seats, and more comfortable benches for all. The design also improves sight lines, acoustics, and overall safety for audience members as its brought up to current building codes. Many believe the Amp’s signature curved ceiling contributes to its excellent acoustics, and this feature is retained in the new structure.

The new handicapped accessible seats and their companion seats will be located in three rows — one in the front row of the main floor; one at the middle of the main floor; and one around the top row. The existing ramps greatly exceed current ADA requirements in pitch and are being replaced with new steps that are easier and much safer to navigate with appropriate handrails and lighting. The seating will look very much like it does now with wooden benches that will be re-designed to provide a more comfortable ergonomic profile.

The bleacher seats are being replaced with an increase in regular bench seats, allowing the west side of the Amp to be open, as it was in the past. Eliminating these bleachers will improve the opportunities for natural breezes to flow through the Amp and will further enhance those intimate qualities of openness and connectivity along the perimeter thereby increasing standing room and porch viewing.

The existing interior columns today are currently approximately 20’ apart. The new Amp nearly doubles that span to approximately 38’, thereby increasing the number of seats with an unobstructed view to the stage. The reduction in columns will be offset by an increase in structural members above the ceiling space and stronger columns with higher-strength steel. The new roof structure will extend outward to cover all seats and the last row of handicapped-accessible seats.

 

Building Systems (Mechanical, Electrical, H.V.A.C. & Telecom)

From the new loading dock and freight elevator, through the mechanical and electrical systems, out to the sound booth and up to the lighting and audio visual controls, the New Amp will be up to code, industry standards, and a much safer and more efficient place for those who work setting up before the varied programs and behind the scenes. From electric bells and speaking tubes in 1893, to fiber optics, an adjustable pit, and a real loading dock and freight elevator.