Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts transformed a Beverly Hills city block into a vibrant cultural destination. This live performing arts complex comprises two distinct and elegant buildings: the fully renovated, 1933 Italianate-style Beverly Hills Post Office now known as the Paula Kent Meehan Historic Building that houses the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater, and the addition of the 500-seat, state of the art Bram Goldsmith Theater.

The former post office also houses a box office, café, gift shop, donor lounge, theatre school, production support services and administrative offices.

The Goldsmith Theater provides an intimate setting for patrons and performers. Generous seating and clear sight lines underscore this connection between the audience and the stage. Schuler Shook created more than 20 seating layouts for the Goldsmith before arriving at the final version. Schuler Shook’s lighting designers added color and dynamism in the lighting of the walnut wood paneling in the auditorium. The theatre supports productions from around the world for audiences of all ages.

The Lovelace is a flexible theatre capable of multiple stage and seating configurations. It retains the original clerestory windows along its side walls, providing a sky view and natural light into the space for rehearsals and setups. It also boasts a full-height area adjacent to the main storing room which may be used as a ​“stage” when desired.
 

Schuler Shook provided theatre consulting for the full project, including seating and sightlines in both theatres, stage equipment systems, lighting design for the two theatres, and general planning for all public and staff spaces. The theatre team worked in collaboration with Zoltan Pali of Studio Pali Fekete Architects and acousticians Jaffe Holden.