By Wally Kennedy
Globe Staff Writer
JOPLIN, Mo. —
With space-age drawings and futuristic buildings, the booklet asks the people of Joplin to dream about making their city “more modern, more livable and more desirable.’’
The booklet, “Future Joplin,’’ was created in connection with the city’s 20th annual Realtors’ Home Show. Inside is a depiction of a new arts and entertainment center that looks like a place where George Jetson would feel at home.
It was published in 1959.
Joplin has been talking about an arts and entertainment center for a long time, but this time the talk has momentum and enough money behind it to hire consultants.
On Tuesday, residents will get a chance to tell those consultants, Halsey and Alice North, with The North Group, what they think about a proposal for an arts and entertainment center for Joplin.
A public meeting, sponsored by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Community Room at Southwest Missouri Bank, 801 S. Duquesne Road. In addition, the Norths are staging meetings with local focus groups, such as hoteliers and educators.
By the time the Norths finish their feasibility study in early October, more than 300 people will have shared their thoughts on whether an arts and entertainment center is wanted and, if so, what they would like to see and do at the center if one is built.
‘Opry to Opera’
“What we are planning for the future must resonate with the community we want to serve,’’ Halsey North said last week. “If an arts center is constructed, it cannot be a generic or a cookie-cutter thing. It must specifically respond to the wishes of the people who will be using it. It’s got to be a place people feel comfortable coming to.’’
The second round of in-depth interviews this week will look at what kind of space is needed to “show off the potential user groups.’’ So far, the interviews have indicated a broad range of entertainment would be showcased, including Broadway shows, rock music, musicals and “lots of country and western. As one of the people we talked to said: ‘It’s for everything from opry to opera.’ We loved that,’’ he said.
“And, the people of Joplin say they like to be outside. That suggests the possibility of an amphitheater.’’
The center, he said, would be a place where schools could bus children to see a show, have lunch and do a creative project in a multipurpose room. The center could offer a full day of creative activity.
Interviews, so far, also have suggested to North that the new center should be constructed near the Union Depot, and would include a new home and gallery space for Spiva Art Center. The new gallery would be climate controlled and provide additional security. Those features would enable Spiva to attract shows that it cannot draw now.
The new center also would have a large performance hall and a smaller one to showcase local groups, an amphitheater, and an outdoor festival area for community fairs and art shows to “bring people downtown,’’ North said.
Cultural village
North said a site near the Union Depot has emerged from the interviews.
“In every single meeting, it has been the location of choice. The Union Depot itself has such a strong iconic appeal. It would involve the renovation of the area around the depot. It is a very inviting site in that it would strengthen that whole part of Main Street.’’
Talk of a possible museum in the depot, he said, could emphasize Joplin’s mining heritage and its connection to nearby Route 66.
“As we have talked to these groups, the idea of a cultural village comes to mind with all of these pieces being together. The concept is coalescing around the depot, an amphitheater, new arts and entertainment center, and additional parking. They are conscious that the depot and the center could be a spark for downtown development.’’
North said the feasibility study also will propose a ballpark cost, but no figures are being discussed yet.
The study could recommend an approach that involves completion in stages. The study also would project an annual operating budget and management plan for the center.
If the North Group concludes an arts and entertainment center is viable in Joplin, the next phase would involve hiring of an architect to come up with a conceptual design and test the waters in terms of how much money might be raised for the center, which would be privately financed.
“We are not going to paint a sunny picture of what you need,” North said. “We are going to be ruthlessly realistic. We are going to try to set expectations into something that can be realized in a cost-effective manner. We’re not talking about a diamond palace no one can afford. It has to be a facility that is affordable, doable and comfortable,’’ he said.
‘Ownership’
Going to the people to find out what they want is exactly what Joplin should be doing in this phase of its exploration of a cultural arts center, said James Baudoin, executive director of the Asheville (N.C.) Area Center for the Performing Arts. Baudoin was recruited for the job in Asheville after bringing to fruition the 2004 opening of the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in Columbus, Ga. The Asheville center is in its design phase; they expect a groundbreaking in 2013 and an opening two years later.
Said Baudoin: “The community has to be engaged in the development of the project from the very beginning. Families need to make contributions to the center. That creates that sense of ownership, which then translates into long-term involvement, tickets sales, memberships, etc.’’
Baudoin cited the struggle of the Overture Center in Madison, Wis., as an example of what can happen when the public is not engaged.
“It was paid for by a single donor. The public was not that involved. It opened debt free, but they have struggled to make it work financially,’’ he said.
Baudoin also said he is not aware of any cultural arts centers that closed because of the downturn in the economy, but “many of them have had difficulty financially, which should not be unexpected.’’
In the decades Baudoin has been involved in the industry, he has seen it evolve.
“It’s no longer show times in the evening and matinees on the weekends. Now, these buildings are open more. Their lobbies are like hotel lobbies with cafes and shops that are integrated into these nonprofit centers. There are significant outdoor areas.
“It’s gone to a more 24-7 approach than just a showplace for a community. It’s about the effective utilization of space,’’ he added. “And, you do not need much space to do a lot.’’
Asheville will build a 2,000-seat center and Baudoin said there is a reason for that.
“That’s a relatively standard size. It becomes a niche in that the touring companies can plan their productions to the depth of the stage and the size of the hall. If it’s larger than 2,000 seats, it becomes difficult for an orchestra to have the quality that is needed in a hall,’’ he said.
Comparisons
The Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Ark., has 1,200 seats. The Luther Carson Four Rivers Center in Paducah, Ky., has 1,800 seats. Both were cited in a presentation last month by Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr when he outlined a vision for the city that also included a town green and plans to make Union Depot the museum’s new home.
Fayetteville is larger than Joplin, Paducah is smaller, but both have been successful since their openings.
“Paducah has, and quite effectively, drawn regionally for its performances. The region is very responsive to that theater. It’s a full regional audience as opposed to just the town,’’ Baudoin said.
The Walton Arts Center, built nearly 20 year ago, is now in the early phase of an expansion in which 25 sites around Fayetteville are being considered.
Beth Goodwin, with the Walton Arts Center, said: “What we need for the future is additional space for the programming that is out there. Our hall is not big enough to hold those types of Broadway shows. We can’t sell enough tickets and you can’t raise ticket prices in this economy.’’
A center with 2,200 to 2,500 seats is being considered, but an actual decision could be three to five years out.
“There’s a lot to be determined, but a couple of hundred tickets could make all the difference,’’ she said.
The center hosted a two-week run of “Beauty and the Beast’’ this summer. It demonstrated demand is there. It is about to premiere a new show by the Blue Man Group in September.
“They are mounting their national tour in Fayetteville. This show, which is highly interactive with the audience, will be the first time for it anywhere. Always before, their shows were in big auditoriums and arenas. They have reconfigured their whole show to a theater this size,’’ she said.
Early interviews with Joplin-area residents indicate that some are traveling to the Walton Arts Center and others like it in the region to get the entertainment they can’t get in Joplin.
“Let’s do it here,’’ said Sharon Beshore, co-chairwoman of the Cultural Arts Center Initiative for Joplin.
“For the last three years, organizations have come together to work for the future of performing and visual arts in Joplin. The City Council came on board three years ago because it wants to promote economic development, education and quality of life,’’ she said. “In the last two years, the city and the chamber of commerce have made it a priority.’’
About Joplin’s initiative, North said, “This motivation is not from a business or individual, but from a group of people who said it is time. This is a grass-roots initiative that goes deep into the community.’’
Beshore’s co-chairman, Clifford Wert, president of US Bank in the Joplin region, said: “I have a personal interest in the lifeblood of the community and economic development of this community. An arts and culture center is a fundamental component to attracting, retaining and educating our population.
“I saw the impact on my own children when they were involved in dance and music. It’s an aspect of our community that we would like to expand and become more prolific,’’ he said.
But he cautioned that Joplin must do its due diligence.
“We want to make sure that we bring all of the considerations together — the right location, the right design and the right concept for operations,’’ he said.
‘Many benefits’
City Manager Rohr admits he’s not “an artsy kind of guy,’’ but that he is starting to develop an appreciation for the arts. There is no question he appreciates the power of the arts as an economic development tool for the downtown.
In July, he unveiled to the council the SPARK initiative to ‘Stimulate Progress through Arts, Recreation and Knowledge of the past.’ The council endorsed the measure.
“I believe there are many benefits that can accrue to Joplin as a result of implementing the SPARK initiative, but I think it is fair to say that I believe the most significant benefit would be economic development,’’ Rohr said.
“In my July presentation, I indicated that our downtown renovation has been an overwhelming success aesthetically, but hasn’t yet achieved the commercial success we’d like. The three aspects of the SPARK initiative would create a draw that could spill over into the Sunshine Lamp District and complement the improvements made in that area of our city.’’
Rohr said he also believes that “developing the arts could help expand minds and stimulate creativity in other areas that would in a more indirect manner come back to benefit Joplin many times over.’’
The futuristic look at Joplin in 1959 is what Beshore said got her thinking about an arts and entertainment center for Joplin.
“Brad Belk brought that brochure to our attention,’’ she said. “In the 1950s, they wanted to see a performing arts center as a project they wanted to complete by the year 2000.
“We have been talking about a downtown arts center for the future of Joplin for a long time. It might not be a space-age design, but we want to create an environment for culture and the arts that suits the community.’’
