Tag: Landmark

Future looks bright for Historic Chateau Theatre in Downtown Rochester

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Historic Chateau Theatre

The historic Chateau Theatre in downtown Rochester may breathe new life – soon. The Destination Medical Center Corporation (DMCC) Board, at its March 22 meeting, authorized up to $1 million in 2018 capital improvement funds to enhance the beloved theatre by providing necessary building repairs, ensuring code compliance, and initiating renovations.

“This solution will allow activation of the Chateau in the short-term, while long-term planning among public and private partners to create a true destination in Heart of the City continues,” says Lisa Clarke, Destination Medical Center (DMC) Economic Development Agency’s Executive Director.

The Historic Chateau: Imagining the future and celebrating the past

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Screen Shot 2016-05-28 at 7.09.55 AMWith Green River Soda and popcorn in hand, Rochester community members got their first look at the Chateau Theatre’s future last week.

The building, which was purchased by the City of Rochester last year, will be transformed into a multi-use performing arts space. Exactly what the building’s interior will look like is still in the planning stages.

But architects from Miller Dunwiddie Architecture, the Minneapolis firm selected by the Chateau Theatre Taskforce to reimagine the building, said that the Chateau will continue to be a focal point of downtown Rochester and the Heart of the City.

The historic Chateau Theatre: What was and what could be

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Photos by Julie Sawyer

Community input is and will always be core to the efforts of DMC. This past winter, DMC utilized the vacant Chateau Theatre space for a unique luncheon event during which attendees were invited to share both their memories of the Chateau Theatre and ideas for future use of the space.

They recalled many memories from the Chateau’s days gone by. The theater’s unique décor was the perfect setting to catch up with a friend or enjoy a leisurely cup of joe. Grandparents, parents, and grown children alike read books together in the “castle” and sat on Santa’s lap. Rochester’s own Mayor Ardell Brede took his now-wife of 54 years on their first date to a movie at the theater.