Milwaukee Symphony's new concert hall combines old movie house, new additions and 'Harry Potter' whimsy

Construction is on track for fall 2020 opening, but the hall is not likely to be ready for a concert during the Democratic National Convention here

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The afterlife of an elevator door encapsulates the creative construction project that is transforming the former Warner Grand Theatre into the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's new concert hall.

Once the lobby elevator at 212 W. Wisconsin Ave. took visitors up to more than 10 floors of offices. While that elevator is gone now, its arched doorway and numerals will remain as an internal portal to the concert space, one of several whimsical grace notes that Milwaukee Symphony president Mark Niehaus dubs "Harry Potter" elements.

Fond du Lac's C.D. Smith Construction Inc. is overseeing a complex project that includes both renovating the Warner Grand Theatre, which opened in 1931, and an adjacent office building, while also constructing new additions, including a glassy, two-story lobby east of the original theater. Future concert patrons will walk from the new lobby through that elevator door into the concert hall.

Because federal and state historic preservation tax credits of more than $18 million are crucial to the project, crews moved the theater's 625-ton wall back about 35 feet in August to accommodate the larger stage the symphony needs.

The total campaign goal is $139 million, with about $90 million earmarked for construction costs and the rest going to related initiatives, including endowment.

To date, the symphony has raised $120,256,951, it reported in an Oct. 15 statement. It has launched the final public phase of its fundraising campaign, including opportunities to name individual seats for a 15-year period for gifts from $2,500 to $10,000 per seat.

Niehaus said the construction project is on track or even slightly ahead of schedule for the MSO to perform there in September 2020, the opening of its 2020-'21 concert season.

But he does not expect the symphony to be able to perform a concert in the new hall during the Democratic National Convention here in July 2020.

"I don't think we're going to have an occupancy permit by then," he said. "Too many things would have to go perfectly exactly right."

But Niehaus would not call the door on a possible event completely shut.

"The door is barely ajar," he said. And he does not rule out other possible Milwaukee Symphony participation in convention events.

Conrad Schmitt Studios restoring murals and fixtures

On a recent hardhat tour of the construction project, Niehaus and John Roloff, symphony director of operations & facilities, pointed out some of the future hall's distinctive features:

Piano storage on a lower level includes a lift that will gently raise the piano to stage level. No more rolling the piano on and off stage.
The locker room where musicians change clothes is designed for easy adjustment as the gender composition of the orchestra changes.
Because the stage is close to North Second Street, the masonry wall there will be built up three feet thick, so traffic noise will not interfere.
Public restroom units (stalls and urinals) on all levels add up to 52 for women, 38 for men and three unisex/family.
The new hall will have multiple bars for patrons to grab a beverage and talk. Niehaus predicts the coolest one will be the bar under the balcony inside the theater.

Since groundbreaking, C.D. Smith has been coordinating work behind the walls, including plumbing, electrical and data connections, setting the stage for Conrad Schmitt Studios of New Berlin to restore murals, fixtures and other details.

To qualify for those tax credits, the work must follow National Park Service design and construction standards for preserving historic buildings, down to specific paints and chemicals.

Up on the "dance floor," a temporary platform and scaffolding high inside the theater, Conrad Schmitt artisans are cleaning, restoring and repainting murals, fixtures and other decorative elements, some of which look like woodwork but are actually plaster.

Those uneven shapes and surfaces, nooks and crannies are not only beautiful, they are better at reflecting music than flat walls would be, Niehaus said.

As artisans attend to every inch of the work, they've made surprising discoveries, including an image in this 1931 mural that appears to predict the future Hoan Bridge.

The Milwaukee Symphony is transforming the former Warner Grand Theatre on N. 2nd St. into its new concert hall opening in fall 2020. The 1930s artwork of the theater seems to predict the future Hoan Bridge.

In addition to that repurposed elevator door, several other elements will remind future concertgoers of the building's history. The old Centre Screening Room door will remain, as will a lower-level stairway that now goes nowhere, but might become an intermission lounging spot.

Contact Jim Higgins at jim.higgins@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jhiggy.

Early donors to symphony hall step forward

Early donors who have given at least $1 million to the symphony hall fundraising campaign have given the orchestra permission to release their names in support of the final push.

The early donors include Donna and Donald Baumgartner, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Murph and John Burke, Bobbi and Jim Caraway, Franklyn and Barbara Esenberg, Herzfeld Foundation, George and Donna Kaiser, the estate of Jane Kaiser, Donald and JoAnne Krause, Billie Kubly, Arthur and Nancy Laskin, Sheldon and Marianne Lubar, The Marcus Corporation, The Marcus Corporation Foundation, Mary Vandenberg and Keith Mardak, Rite-Hite Foundation, Michael and Jeanne Schmitz, Bud and Sue Selig, the estate of Barbara Abert Tooman, David and Julia Uihlein, and We Energies Foundation.