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WE ARE DOING ALL WE CAN TO SAVE THIS TREASURE
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Fire Inspection
There is no written record of the last time there was a fire inspection of the Kalita Humphreys Theater. Although the Master Plan team raised this issue in 2008, not until Mark Lamster called attention to it in his January article – pointing to the lack of a fire curtain – and your letters followed, did the inspection finally occur. We have volunteered original documents from our archives and consultant reports from the Master Plan, and we understand that a Dallas Fire/Rescue Department report will be forthcoming.
We Lobbied for Bond Money. Now it is being used!
The KTC lobbied City Hall for the $525,000 to be reinstated in the 2018 bond package.
In the absence of formal guidelines for the Kalita, the KTC archives and the Master Plan reports are being used to generate background information for HVAC work that is now under bid.
The adoption of the Master Plan will underscore that the Historic Ordinance for the Kalita Humphreys Theater recommends that a historical consultant be retained on all projects to maintain standards of care by all those who come onsite to do maintenance and improvements. The Master Plan recommends an onsite permanent archive to keep all records intact and available to the City and the public.
We congratulate Carl Janak on his service to the City
Carl Janak, Senior Architect of the City of Dallas, who was mentioned in the Lamster article, has retired from the City. There is no replacing Carl, who made it his mission to know everything possible about the Kalita to inform EBS/DPW projects. Carl made sure that vendors and contractors worked with historical data specific to the building and that protections contained in the 2005 Historic Ordinance were maintained.
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Your support is making a difference.
Our last newsletter details the progress through May. Click here to read it!
Spring Outing 2019 Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy (FLWBC)
The FLWBC is an international nonprofit organization based in Chicago with a mission to facilitate the preservation and maintenance of the remaining structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
They have recently announced that they are coming to Dallas in May 2019 for a special advocacy-focused visit to call attention to the importance of our Wright theater. Visit this link to hear more about the FLWBC’s Spring Out and About in Dallas:
The Fall Issue of the FLWBC magazine, “SaveWright,” will include an article about the Kalita, the Master Plan, and the KTC, with additional comment by KTC board member Charles Marshall about other Wright work in Dallas.
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Give feedback on the new Dallas Cultural Plan (Click this Link)
Right now there is one brief mention of the Kalita on page 86-87. We believe the Master Plan vision for the Kalita campus aligns with the Dallas Cultural Plan Policy in these ways:
- Kalita has the potential to be the nucleus of an exciting cultural campus for the whole Dallas community.
- The Kalita campus is envisioned in the Master Plan as a cultural park that will serve the whole Dallas community and beyond.
- Highly desired by Dallas’ small, emerging, and diverse cultural groups for its unique panoramic stage and perfect acoustic, the Kalita’s 375 to 440 seat mainstage will fill a gap in demand for smaller theaters.
- The Master Plan envisions a Kalita campus that will feature outdoor performance spaces and up to two Black-Box theaters on the site.
- As it did in the past, the Kalita will once again accommodate architectural tourism, school groups, and lecture series.
Contact the City
It is vital for the City to hear your expression of the importance of this property and your support of the city adopting the Master Plan. You can help by sending an email as soon as possible to the following groups:
Cultural Affairs Commission
Find the contact information of your commissioner here: https://dallasculture.org/cac/commissioners/
Our path to Council starts with the Cultural Affairs Commission.
Office of Cultural Affairs - jennifer.scripps@dallascityhall.com - The process to for the Master Plan to go to City Council must be initiated by the Office of Cultural Affairs. Encourage them to put this on Council Agenda as soon as possible in support of the city adopting the Master Plan.
Quality of Life, Arts, and Culture Committee
Chair is Sandy Greyson sandy.greyson@dallascityhall.com and Vice Chair for Cultural Arts is Mark Clayton, http://dallascityhall.com/government/citycouncil/district9/Pages/default.aspx
Councilman Philip Kingston, District 14
Philip.Kingston@dallascityhall.com, The Kalita Humphreys Theater in the Turtle Creek Corridor is in District 14.
Park Board Councilmembers
Find yours here: https://www.dallasparks.org/107/Park-and-Recreation-Board. The process will include a Park Board briefing.
Park and Recreation Department
Willis Winters, FAIA, is Director https://www.dallasparks.org/106/Department-Leadership. Encourage the park department to engage in the process of moving through Council.
Voice Your Support on Social Media
Use #savethekalita to build support for the Kalita in your community, and repost and retweet @wrightinthepark on Instagram and Twitter.
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The Council is being asked to adopt a master plan, not a governance structure, and not funding. The simple broad strokes vision of the Master Plan will transform this campus into an enduring cultural asset by:
- Restoring Wright’s only theater and its relationship to its setting as an example of great modern architecture
- Rehabilitating the theater to its original design with modern equipment and minor modifications for functionality
- Creating a support building that fully supports the program
- Restoring the landscape and enhancing and protecting the park
- Increasing awareness of the cultural asset locally, nationally and internationally
- Bringing together advocates and owners in a collective operation to ensure good stewardship for the future
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Your financial support will help us get the word out, on more platforms and move us forward with support for the push to Council.
We are accepting donations in check form, to the KTC Conservancy, 3824 Cedar Springs Road, Suite 1044, Dallas, Texas 75219.
Please include your address for receipt and acknowledgement. This is the right idea and the time is long overdue!
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