Midland Center for the Arts

Midland Center for the Arts grew from a proposal to bring the Michigan city's artistic organisations together under one roof. The organisation took shape in 1965, with founding groups including the Midland Symphony Orchestra, Theatre Guild, Music Society and Historical Society. Architect Alden B. Dow designed the building, supported by foundation funding and contributions from more than three thousand individuals. Construction began in July 1968. A Christmas symphony concert conducted by Don Jaeger took place in December 1970, before the building was formally handed over in January 1971 and celebrated with dedication events that May. The centre unites performance, visual arts and educational activity within a nonprofit institution. Alden B. Dow, the architect who gave Midland much of its modern face, designed this complex in the Michigan city where he practised. It carries two performance spaces — an auditorium of 1,500 seats and a theatre of 400 — alongside two museums, art studios, lecture halls and a historical campus. The Midland Symphony Orchestra performs there, and Verdi's La traviata has been among the operas staged.