San Jose Redevelopment Agency, 1988
Fox Theatre renovation
(with Robinson Mills + Williams Architects and S Leonard Auerbach & Associates)


As part of the renewal of a downtown block, the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Jose was considering the restoration of a '20s vintage Fox Theatre. I was a member of the architect-led team which made the successful proposal to undertake a user feasibility study for the Fox. The team included the usual structural, acoustical, heritage and other specialists, as well as Len Auerbach's theatre consulting firm which focused on the technical aspects of the exercise. My area covered the always-important question of seating capacity in relation to potential users, as well as programming, operations and administration for models based on local user/touring attraction mixes designed to ensure the viable operation of the theatre over the long haul.

The problem was how to fit the restoration of the theatre into the renewal of the entire city block. Logistical problems abounded (how to create lobby space and how it should relate to retail space, how to load in and out, what impact of various capacities of the theatre could have on the ability of the block to handle crowds). With the Redevelopment Agency, we developed three conceptual configurations for the theatre; restore the Fox for cinematic/lecture/meeting use only, create within the Fox a 600 seat thrust theatre, renovate the Fox maximizing seating capacity to accommodate music theatre and dance. My job was assess the cultural ecology of the city and then to build the model programs, calendars, management structures and operating financial proformas for these three configurations and to recommend which made the most sense.

In the course of the work I interviewed 18 representatives of performance organizations in San Jose, both commercial and not-for-profit. Another 10 organizations provided detailed written input. I looked at all the venues in the City which could be used by San Jose performing organizations and saw performances in a number of them. The exercise was worth the effort, not because it mobilized the City to restore the Fox, but because it made clear to the community and to the City that there was in San Jose a jewel of an opera company run by a remarkable native daughter of the town which was neglected. Folks took notice of the San Jose Opera which is now reasonably supported.