Kehrein Center for the Arts

Constructed in 1954, this long-shuttered auditorium is a great representation of the Modernist style. It features poured-in-place concrete with curving walls and spaces that interlock with the library and courtyard of the attached school. The school opened at the turn of the 20th Century as St. Catherine’s Academy and later became Siena High School. It shuttered in 1977 and remained vacant until 2008 when the Catalyst Circle Rock charter school began renovating the classrooms. The complex is also home to a church and Circle Rock Ministries. A $5 million renovation of the Belli & Belli-designed auditorium was recently completed. The restored space seats 850 people and has all the components necessary to function as a multi-use performance space, including theatrical lighting, audiovisual systems, and acoustical panels to improve the projection of sound. The two-story lobby with a hanging catwalk, offers an equally dramatic pre-function space.

Belli & Belli, 1954; renovation: Eckenhoff Saunders, 2018