Lincoln Center unveils design for revamped Amsterdam Avenue side of campus
Aerial view from Amsterdam Avenue looking east; visible are new streetscape, gardens, and theater. Rendering by Brooklyn Digital Foundry
New renderings reveal a reimagined west side of Lincoln Center, part of a project aimed at making the campus more welcoming and accessible. Lincoln Center for Performing Arts (LCPA) on Monday unveiled a preliminary design for the transformation of its Amsterdam Avenue-facing side, led by Hood Design Studio, Weiss/Manfredi, and Moody Nolan. The proposal includes an outdoor performance venue, new community park spaces, and the removal of a longstanding wall, which cuts the campus off from the rest of the neighborhood.
“This re-envisioning of Lincoln Center’s west face is a watershed moment. The new park design builds on the insights of thousands of our immediate neighbors and Lincoln Center fans from throughout the city,” Mariko Silver, president and CEO of LCPA, said in a statement.
“The theater will bring the best of New York to the world and the best of the world to New York. With this new park, we invite the joy and pride of New Yorkers and arts lovers everywhere to flourish at Lincoln Center.”
Along Amsterdam Avenue, the wall, which stands at five feet tall at 62nd Street and rises to 20 feet tall at 65th Street, will be replaced with a series of welcoming entry points that seamlessly connect the neighborhood to the campus’s west side.
Compared to the Revson Fountain and Josie Robertson Plaza on the east side of the campus, the west side provides no direct access and creates a barrier between LCPA and the neighborhood, particularly with NYCHA residents and students attending several high schools in the area, as 6sqft previously reported.
In 2023, LCPA announced plans to open up the Amsterdam Avenue edge of its campus, including Damrosch Park, which is city-owned and operated by Lincoln Center. After a participatory planning process that began that summer and included feedback from more than 3,400 New Yorkers, the design team was selected to transform the space into a public park with a modern performance venue.
“For far too long, the dividing wall has been residents of Amsterdam Houses’ primary view of Lincoln Center, and its removal serves as a powerful symbol of the institution’s commitment to breaking down barriers within our community,” Yvette Powell, Tenant Association President of Amsterdam Houses (NYCHA), said.
“This transformation not only responds to the evolving intergenerational needs of our residents but also promises deeper connection and opportunity.”
A key element of the redesign is a new welcoming entrance that dramatically opens up LCPA’s Amsterdam Avenue frontage to those approaching from the west. This includes removing the wall and replacing it with inviting, human-scale spaces developed in collaboration with the city’s Parks Department.
The design better serves neighbors from NYCHA’s Amsterdam Houses and Addition, as well as students from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and the five schools within the Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Complex.
Inspired by LCPA’s Modernist architecture, the design recognizes the campus’ symmetrical layout and formal edges by keeping a “strong central axis” and formal entry points while carefully incorporating modern elements that are accessible, flexible, and dynamic. The proposal also calls for the same materials, textures, colors, and scale as other elements found across the campus to create a sense of cohesion.
Additional improvements include a widened sidewalk between 62nd and 65th Streets, an improved bus waiting area, added greenery and shade, and increased seating and lighting along the edge.
New gardens at the entrance to Damrosch Park will feature a variety of public seating, while new art and light interventions will liven up the concourse connecting Amsterdam Avenue to the 1 train entrance on Broadway.
The new community spaces will be centered around a water feature and large lawn area, bound by benches and movable chairs. Much of the geometry of the new park mimics the historic geometries of Lincoln Center. For example, the new lawn mirrors the shape and scale of the Bandshell but re-interprets it as a space for community activity instead of a physical barrier.
During the participatory planning process, community members emphasized the need for flexible, graceful, and human-scale spaces along Amsterdam Avenue, prioritizing greenery, a water feature, improved shade, and sustainability, with a goal of adding 50 percent more trees than currently in the park.
A welcoming lawn, bordered by flowering trees and a water feature with mist, jets, and reflections, will offer a space for relaxation and play. Nearby, tranquil groves will provide spots for sitting, gathering, and resting, while an open terrace and performance area will host small-scale shows and family events.
Anchoring the revitalized park, the new performance venue will include a permanent theater and an open plaza with seating for about 2,000 guests, designed for both artistic and community use.
Its location preserves the historic view of Josie Robertson Plaza while fulfilling the original vision of a theater in a park, with the new structure framed by a veil of trees that follow the park’s original grid design.
Throughout the community workshops, participants expressed the importance of maintaining the park’s historic use as a performance space. Since its inception, Damrosch Park has been a vital space for free, non-ticketed events. However, due to its predominantly hardscaped layout, it is cut off from the community for most of the year.
The design opens the park up to year-round access, with a permanent theater structure that eliminates the need for major buildouts before and after each performance season. When not in use for shows, the space can also function as a recreational area.
Additional features include a stage and theater configured to bring audiences closer to the action while allowing the park to remain accessible during performances, an adjacent Artists’ Bar, and a shaded overlook and grove with tiered seating.
The project is backed by a $335 million capital campaign, with 65 percent of the funds raised to date. Support has come from the LCPA Board of Directors, who championed the project from the start, as well as a $10 million commitment from the State of New York.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation is a founding partner in the project, contributing a $75 million grant. The gift includes early support when the initiative first launched and builds on the foundation’s backing of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City free programming.
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