New electronic sign and entrance for Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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diana wortham entrance1Press release here:

The Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place in downtown Asheville announces that plans are underway to create a new entrance to the popular performing arts venue, highlighted by the addition of a marquee on Biltmore Avenue.

The new entrance provides direct access to the theatre’s lobby and orchestra level and is an enhancement of the existing entrance into Pack Place from Biltmore Avenue. Patrons enter the theatre through the breezeway between Marble Slab Creamery and the Circle in the Square restaurant, and into a large interior courtyard for Pack Place with multiple glass doors to the lower lobby, containing a new box office, as well as concessions, The Forum, and restrooms.

The new marquee on Biltmore Avenue will be visible by pedestrians and vehicles travelling in either direction on the busy thoroughfare. Host to between 160 and 180 public events annually, and the city’s most active live venue, the theatre will utilize the new marquee to convey a full and ever changing offering by local arts groups, touring artists, and civic organizations. For the many local groups who use the theatre regularly, the marquee will provide a better presence for those events and a tool for getting their information out to the public.

The theatre worked with the owners of the building, the city and local architecture firm PBC&L on the design of the marquee which will utilize non-animated screens and LED lighting, providing the flexibility to display the theatre’s diverse schedule which includes multiple events per week, sometimes even more than one event in a day.

According to Diana Wortham Theatre Managing Director John Ellis, the changes are part of the master plan for the theatre and the physical restructuring of Pack Place to accommodate the expansion of the Asheville Art Museum.

Visitors to the Pack Place complex may still enter and exit the building from Pack Square and Patton Avenue but the new entryway will be the primary point of entrance for both the theatre and the Colburn Earth Science Museum.

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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7 Comments

  1. David Cohen April 2, 2013

    It is hard for me to come up with ANY performance venue that doesn’t have a marquee listing upcoming events. What would be all of the naysayers’ suggestions for marquees?

    Reply
  2. roo March 29, 2013

    Does this sign conform to City of Asheville sign ordinances?

    Reply
    1. Scott March 31, 2013

      Nah. They’re just gonna wing it and see if the Planning and Development Dept. notice.

      Reply
  3. Murphy March 27, 2013

    I hope this sign is not as offensive as the previous marquee …

    Reply
  4. D March 27, 2013

    Oh how tacky of an eye sore will this sign be? Wasn’t their last flashing sign on Pack Square also LED? It’s going to be a bright blight on the corridor into town.

    Reply
    1. Murphy March 27, 2013

      It’ll be hard to beat the light coming from the Aloft building …

      Reply
      1. David L March 27, 2013

        That’s why I call the aLoft the “iSore”.

        Reply

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