Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts
Second Acts
In 1998, the six-million pound building, then known as the Schubert Theater, took a record-breaking trip across downtown Minneapolis to rest in a new location within the Hennepin Arts District. Extensive documentation and stabilization of historic building fabric was conducted in advance of this extraordinary feat of engineering, which took 12 days and earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Following that move, Miller Dunwiddie consulted with project developer, Artspace, and the city during fundraising, renovation, and design activities. The long vacant 1910 building is now enjoying its second act as a 21st century performance space that has become one of the jewels of Minneapolis’s lively music and theater community. The work ultimately included renovations to the Schubert building, its neighbor, the Hennepin Theater for the Arts building (the 1888 Masonic Temple), and the design and development of a new modern addition with rehearsal space and offices for 20 arts organizations. Collectively, the three unique spaces are now known as the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts.