Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota. It presents a broad program that includes touring Broadway musicals, musical theater, orchestra concerts, opera, children's theater, world music, dance, recitals, and other cultural performances. The center also produces local musical-theater work and provides a home or regular performance setting for several important Minnesota arts organizations, including Minnesota Opera, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and The Schubert Club. The institution originated in an arts-building vision developed by Saint Paul resident Sally Ordway Irvine in 1980. Irvine, an heiress to part of the 3M fortune and a prominent arts patron, imagined a European-style concert hall capable of presenting a wide range of work, described at the time as encompassing everything from opera to the Russian circus. She contributed $7.5 million to the project, a contribution matched by other members of the Ordway family. Fifteen Twin Cities corporations and foundations provided the principal additional support for a complex costing approximately $46 million. At the time, the project was described as the most expensive privately funded arts facility built in Minnesota. Architect Benjamin Thompson designed the building to make a contemporary visual statement while fitting harmoniously into its setting beside Rice Park. Thompson was known for projects including the renovation of Boston's Faneuil Hall and the development of New York's South Street Seaport. The original complex, called Ordway Music Theatre, included a 1,900-seat Music Theater, a 306-seat McKnight Theatre, two large rehearsal rooms, and the Marzitelli Foyer. The foyer's two-story glass curtain wall provides views toward Rice Park, the surrounding historic buildings, and, at a distance, the Mississippi River. The facility opened to the public on January 1, 1985, under the name Ordway Music Theatre. In 2000, it was renamed Ordway Center for the Performing Arts to reflect the breadth of activity taking place in the building and the institution's role beyond musical theater. A significant physical transformation followed in the 2010s: the McKnight Theatre was demolished in 2013 to create space for a larger concert venue. The resulting 1,093-seat Concert Hall opened on February 28, 2015, complementing the existing Music Theater and expanding the center's suitability for orchestral, chamber, recital, and other acoustic performances. The Ordway functions both as a presenting organization and as an anchor institution for the Twin Cities performing-arts ecosystem. Its stages support resident and visiting organizations, commercial touring productions, local artists, and cultural performers. Public descriptions of its activity indicate an annual reach of approximately 400,000 people through nearly 500 performances, although the exact figures may vary by reporting year. The center's identity is therefore based on breadth of programming, civic access, architectural prominence, and collaboration with Minnesota's established arts organizations rather than on a single artistic discipline.

The Ordway Center developed from Sally Ordway Irvine's 1980 vision for a European-style concert hall in Saint Paul that could accommodate many forms of performance. Irvine contributed $7.5 million, and members of the Ordway family matched that contribution. The project was also supported by fifteen Twin Cities corporations and foundations, producing a privately funded complex costing approximately $46 million. Its scale made it, at the time, the most expensive privately funded arts facility in Minnesota. Benjamin Thompson was selected as architect. His design sought to combine a contemporary public image with sensitivity to the historic urban context around Rice Park. The original building contained the 1,900-seat Music Theater, a smaller 306-seat McKnight Theatre, two substantial rehearsal rooms, and the two-story Marzitelli Foyer. The foyer's extensive glazing connected the interior to Rice Park and the surrounding downtown landscape. The building opened on January 1, 1985, as Ordway Music Theatre. Although musical theater was central to its early identity, the venue hosted a wider set of disciplines. In 2000, the institution adopted the name Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, signaling its broader programming and role in the regional arts community. A later expansion reshaped the building's performance capacity. The McKnight Theatre was demolished in 2013, and its site was used for a new Concert Hall with approximately 1,093 seats. The hall opened on February 28, 2015, adding a purpose-built space for orchestral, chamber, recital, and related presentations while the larger Music Theater remained available for musicals and other productions. The center now presents touring and locally produced work across musical theater, Broadway, children's theater, world music, dance, orchestra, opera, and recitals. It is associated with or serves as a home for Minnesota Opera, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and The Schubert Club. Public reference material describes an annual audience of roughly 400,000 people attending close to 500 performances, making the Ordway a major cultural venue in Saint Paul and the broader Twin Cities region. Christopher Harrington has served as president and chief executive officer since November 2021.

• 2021

  Christopher Harrington begins as president and CEO

  [1]Ordway Center for the Performing Artsen.wikipedia.org

  Christopher Harrington took on the role of president and chief executive officer in November.

• 2015

  Concert Hall opens

  [1]Ordway Center for the Performing Artsen.wikipedia.org

  A new Concert Hall opened on February 28, adding approximately 1,093 seats and expanding the center's capacity for orchestral and other concert programming.

• 2013

  McKnight Theatre demolished

  [1]Ordway Center for the Performing Artsen.wikipedia.org

  The 306-seat McKnight Theatre was removed to make room for a new, larger concert hall.

• 2000

  Institution renamed

  [1]Ordway Center for the Performing Artsen.wikipedia.org

  The venue adopted the name Ordway Center for the Performing Arts to represent its wider range of artistic activity.

• 1985

  Ordway Music Theatre opens

  [1]Ordway Center for the Performing Artsen.wikipedia.org

  The facility opened to the public on January 1 as Ordway Music Theatre, with a large Music Theater, the McKnight Theatre, rehearsal spaces, and the Marzitelli Foyer.

• 1980

  Project envisioned

  [1]Ordway Center for the Performing Artsen.wikipedia.org

  Sally Ordway Irvine developed the vision for a broad-purpose concert and performing-arts center in Saint Paul and pledged $7.5 million toward its development.

A multi-venue civic performing-arts center that combines touring productions, resident arts organizations, local creation, and culturally diverse programming in a prominent downtown Saint Paul setting.

• Performance venue · 1985

  Music Theater

  The principal large theater in the original complex, the Music Theater has approximately 1,900 seats and is suited to Broadway touring productions, musical theater, large-scale presentations, and other staged performances. Current descriptions give the auditorium a capacity of approximately 1,910 seats.

• Performance venue · 2015

  Concert Hall

  The Concert Hall replaced the former McKnight Theatre and opened in 2015. With approximately 1,093 seats, it expanded the Ordway's ability to host orchestral, chamber, recital, and related concert programming.

• Cultural programming · 1985

  Performing-arts presentations

  The Ordway presents touring and local work across musical theater, Broadway, children's theater, opera, orchestra, world music, dance, and recitals. Programming is delivered through the center itself, resident or affiliated organizations, and visiting artists.

• 2013

  Replaced the McKnight Theatre with a new Concert HallGeneration change

  Background

  The center needed a larger and more suitable venue for concert programming than the 306-seat McKnight Theatre provided.

  Action taken

  The McKnight Theatre was demolished and its site was redeveloped for a new Concert Hall.

  Aftermath

  The Concert Hall opened in 2015 with approximately 1,093 seats, increasing the center's capacity for orchestral and other concert events.

  Source

• 2000

  Adopted a broader institutional nameStrategy

  Background

  The original name, Ordway Music Theatre, emphasized musical theater even as the facility hosted multiple performing-arts disciplines.

  Action taken

  The institution changed its name to Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.

  Aftermath

  The new name positioned the organization as a multi-disciplinary performing-arts center rather than solely a music-theater venue.

  Source

1. 1Ordway Center for the Performing Artsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Ordway Center for the Performing Arts official websiteordway.org