Annette Strauss Square
Encyclopedia
Annette Strauss Square is an 128000 sq ft (11,891.6 m²) outdoor performance facility in the AT&T Performing Arts Center
, located in the Arts District of downtown
Dallas
, Texas
(USA
). It is the city's premier outdoor performing arts venue and a defining feature of the Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park
. Annette Strauss Square hosts a variety of outdoor events ranging from concerts to theatrical and dance performances to multi-day festivals, accommodating audiences of up to 5,000.
In 1998 the facility was renamed "Annette Strauss Artist Square" for Annette Strauss
, the late former Mayor of Dallas who was a passionate supporter of the arts and the Dallas Arts District.
As the AT&T Performing Arts Center took shape, a new permanent facility (designed by architectural firm Foster and Partners
with Dallas based Good Fulton & Farrell serving as Architect of Record) was designed for the same general area. The original venue closed in 2005 and was rededicated "Annette Strauss Square" in the northwest corner of the new Center in September 2010.
AT&T Performing Arts Center
The AT&T Performing Arts Center, preliminarily referred to as the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts is a $354 million multi-venue center in the Dallas Arts District for performances of opera, musical theater, classic and experimental theater, ballet and other forms of dance...
, located in the Arts District of downtown
Downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District in Dallas, Texas USA, located in the geographic center of the city. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally been defined as bounded by the downtown freeway loop: bounded on the east by I-345 Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District...
Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). It is the city's premier outdoor performing arts venue and a defining feature of the Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park
Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park
The Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park will be a public park in the new AT&T Performing Arts Center, located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas...
. Annette Strauss Square hosts a variety of outdoor events ranging from concerts to theatrical and dance performances to multi-day festivals, accommodating audiences of up to 5,000.
History
Artist Square opened in 1989 as a 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) lawn and performance pavilion constructed by the City of Dallas. The $1.8 million project, one of the early venues in the growing Arts District, was temporary in nature and built as a public forum for local visual and performing artists who couldn't afford more elaborate venues. It consisted of a main stage, sloping lawn and a smaller platform stage set in a grassy plaza. The original plan called for a black box theater and a small artists' compound containing galleries and studio space, but these were never completed. The site regularly drew 200,000 visitors each year to concerts, dance events and festivals.In 1998 the facility was renamed "Annette Strauss Artist Square" for Annette Strauss
Annette Strauss
Annette Strauss was a philanthropist and a former mayor of Dallas. The Annette Strauss Artist Square in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas is named in honor of her...
, the late former Mayor of Dallas who was a passionate supporter of the arts and the Dallas Arts District.
As the AT&T Performing Arts Center took shape, a new permanent facility (designed by architectural firm Foster and Partners
Foster and Partners
Foster + Partners is an architectural firm based in London. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....
with Dallas based Good Fulton & Farrell serving as Architect of Record) was designed for the same general area. The original venue closed in 2005 and was rededicated "Annette Strauss Square" in the northwest corner of the new Center in September 2010.