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Building History

The head of Taliesen Associated Architects, William Wesley Peters (1912-1991), designed this theatre for a site in central San Jose, CA, basing his round designs on earlier plans by Frank Lloyd Wright for a performing arts (opera house) in Baghdad, Iraq. The round theatre also had some formal similarities to the Taliesin Associated Architects' design for Arizona State University's Gammage Auditorium of 1964. Taliesin Associated Architects was formed after the death of Frank Lloyd Wright in 1959, to complete the master's commissions and to take on new ones. It was headed for many years by Peters.

In 1972, about 11 weeks after the theatre hosted its first production of Verdi's Aïda, portions of the ceiling collapsed, causing significant damage. The building's owner, the San Jose Civic Improvement Authority and the City of San Jose filed a lawsuit seeking $2,150,000 from 18 defendants, including Peters, the theater engineer, George C. Izenour (1912-2007), and the general contractor, the Barnhart Construction Company. Dr, Glen Loney, Professor of Theaters, City University of New York, wrote in the Architectural Forum in 1973: "The complaint alleges that the nature and timing of the accident indicate negligence of some of the defendants. In addition to negligence, the complaint charges that there was a demonstrated lack of art and skill in the design of the ceiling, besides defects of in the workmanship and materials." (See "Facets Ups & Downs Bringing Down the House," Architectural Forum, vol. 138, no. 5, 06/1973, p. 68, 72.)

Izenour, who taught at Yale University between 1940 and 1977, innovated with theatre lighting, layout and design. He developed interior systems that could make theatres more flexible and reconfigurable to suit different performance needs.

Loney indicated that the ceiling of the Community Theatre in San Jose had reconfigurable features: ""The 15-ton ceiling was devised in such a way that it could close off some 300 balcony seats, turning a 3,000-seat auditorium into a more intimate 2,700-seat theater. Curtains downstairs could make the seating area even smaller. By virtue of the ceiling movability, the acoustical properties of the auditorium could be modified for concerts, operas, plays and speeches." (See "Facets Ups & Downs Bringing Down the House," Architectural Forum, vol. 138, no. 5, 06/1973, p. 68.)

The American Musical Theatre of San Jose (previously known as the San Jose Civic Light Opera, founded in 1934) utilized this theatre for its productions, between 1975 and its demise on 11/26/2008.

PCAD id: 25465