Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts
Encyclopedia
The Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts in Reno, Nevada
was designed by the Oklahoma City
architectural firm of Bozalis, Dickinson and Roloff as a concrete structure with a distinctive gold geodesic dome
roof. It was completed in 1967 with 987 seats on the main level and 513 seats in a balcony. The co-founder of Temcor, the project's contractor, was Don Richter, a student of Buckminster Fuller
, developer of the geodesic dome concept. Temcor had built several gold-anodized aluminum domes before the Pioneer, and was responsible for more than 5000 dome projects.
Originally to be called the Apollo Theater, the Pioneer took its name from a 1939 statue of a pioneer family by Byron S. Johnson, salvaged from the Old State Building, which was demolished to make way for the new facility. Unofficially, the dome was called the "Golden Turtle." It consists of a 500-panel aluminum shell on an inner steel frame, which is in turn supported by reinforced concrete arches. The orchestra level of the theater is depressed below ground level, allowing the roof to nearly touch the ground at the corners.
The Washoe County Fair and Recreation Board, which was responsible for the project, was particularly taken with Casa Mañana
in Fort Worth, Texas
, resulting in the selection of the domed concept. The Pioneer Center was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2005.
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
was designed by the Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
architectural firm of Bozalis, Dickinson and Roloff as a concrete structure with a distinctive gold geodesic dome
Geodesic dome
A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the structure. When...
roof. It was completed in 1967 with 987 seats on the main level and 513 seats in a balcony. The co-founder of Temcor, the project's contractor, was Don Richter, a student of Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....
, developer of the geodesic dome concept. Temcor had built several gold-anodized aluminum domes before the Pioneer, and was responsible for more than 5000 dome projects.
Originally to be called the Apollo Theater, the Pioneer took its name from a 1939 statue of a pioneer family by Byron S. Johnson, salvaged from the Old State Building, which was demolished to make way for the new facility. Unofficially, the dome was called the "Golden Turtle." It consists of a 500-panel aluminum shell on an inner steel frame, which is in turn supported by reinforced concrete arches. The orchestra level of the theater is depressed below ground level, allowing the roof to nearly touch the ground at the corners.
The Washoe County Fair and Recreation Board, which was responsible for the project, was particularly taken with Casa Mañana
Casa Mañana
Casa Mañana Theatre, in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, is located in the Fort Worth Cultural District and is known as the "House of Tomorrow." Originally an outdoor amphitheater, Casa opened in 1936 as the part of the official Texas Centennial Celebration....
in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, resulting in the selection of the domed concept. The Pioneer Center was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2005.
External links
- Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts webpage
- Photographs of the Pioneer Center at the National Park Service NRHP database