About Idea Center
About
The Idea Center is the result of a model partnership between Ideastream Public Media and Playhouse Square. It is located at 1375 Euclid Avenue, in the heart of Cleveland’s Playhouse Square District, between the Allen Theatre and the United Way building. The headquarters for Ideastream Public Media and the home for Playhouse Square’s arts education programs, the Idea Center is much more than a building. It is a place for creativity and education. It is a place for the arts and technology to come together in new ways. It is a place for learning, rehearsing, performing and broadcasting.
Design Narrative
Breakthrough Collaboration and a New Model for Urban Reinvestment
The Idea Center in Cleveland, Ohio is a breakthrough, interactive center for the arts, technology, education and ideas, and a 21st century success model for urban reinvestment through a public and private partnership. The collaborative design vision for the Idea Center leverages its highly visible, street front location on Euclid Avenue, the main corridor of Cleveland’s commercial, retail and entertainment district, to inject a new, dynamic vitality to the city’s urban core.
In a partnership that is the first of its kind in the nation, Ideastream Public Media and the Playhouse Square Foundation have renovated the National Register landmark building at 1375 Euclid Avenue in the heart of Cleveland’s Playhouse Square District as the Idea Center. The 1912 historic structure is transformed into a radically new kind of environment and a technology-based hub. It encompasses the 90,000 square foot Idea Center suite — an innovative, collaborative facility for Ideastream Public Media and Playhouse Square Foundation’s arts education programs, integrating digital multiple media and public broadcast communication with performing arts and arts education — and 124,000 square feet of leased office space for tenants with affinities to design, high-tech, education and media uses.
The development of the Idea Center marks the continued growth and evolution of Playhouse Square, one of the country’s most highly successful cultural districts — the largest complex of restored landmark theatres in America and the country’s second largest performing arts center — nationally recognized for public and private investment in downtown revitalization with demonstrated economic impact.
Download the Idea Center design narrative (PDF).
Partners
About Ideastream Public Media
Ideastream Public Media serves the people of Northeast Ohio as a trusted and dynamic multimedia source for illuminating the world around us. Ideastream Public Media is the home of five public television stations (WVIZ, WVIZ OHIO, WVIZ WORLD, WVIZ CREATE and WVIZ KIDS); WCPN, Northeast Ohio’s NPR news and public affairs radio station; and WCLV, Northeast Ohio’s classical music radio station. Ideastream Public Media produces the award-winning children’s series “NewsDepth” and manages The Ohio Channel and the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau on behalf of all Ohio’s public broadcasting stations. Ideastream Public Media is indispensable and highly valued for its unique ability to strengthen our community.
About Playhouse Square
Playhouse Square is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit, which restored and operates Playhouse Square and related properties in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Playhouse Square is the nation’s largest performing arts complex outside of New York City and represents the largest theater restoration in the world. Its eight performance spaces seat over 10,000 and entertain nearly 1.4 million people annually. Playhouse Square’s mission is to present and produce a wide variety of quality performing arts, advance arts education and create a destination that is a superior location for entertainment, business and housing, thereby strengthening the economic vitality of the region. For more information, visit playhousesquare.org.
History of the Campaign for Idea Center
Ideastream Public Media and Playhouse Square were pleased to announce the successful completion of the Campaign for Idea Center in September 2006, with pledges totaling $29,345,513, surpassing the campaign’s $27.4 million goal.
“We thank the community for embracing and believing in the partnership between Ideastream Public Media and Playhouse Square,” Jerry Wareham, former president and CEO of Ideastream Public Media said, “and we thank all of the volunteers and staff connected to the partner organizations who worked diligently toward the successful completion of the campaign.”
The Idea Center has become a vibrant center of activity including the broadcast operations and education services of Ideastream Public Media and Playhouse Square arts education programs. The facility is a model of creative connectivity where broadcast and digital media is used to create and distribute content, including news, information, educational services and arts and cultural programming.
“Through classes, workshops, professional development, distance learning, broadcast media and performances, we are providing new opportunities for learning and enrichment through the arts and technology,” explained Art J. Falco, president and CEO of Playhouse Square.
The budget for the Idea Center at Playhouse Square was $42 million, with $32 million allocated to construction, furnishings, fixtures and equipment and $10 million for programs and program-enabling technology. The Campaign for Idea Center goal was set at $27.4 million. Funds pledged in excess of the campaign goal will enable Ideastream Public Media and Playhouse Square to develop joint programmatic initiatives.
More information about the campaign can be found below.
Board Chairs
Jeanette Grasselli Brown - Ohio Board of Regents
K.K. Sullivan - Civic Leader
Capital Campaign Co-Chairs
Thomas W. Adler - PSF Management, LLC
Henry L. Meyer III - KeyCorp
Jon H. Outcalt - Federal Process Corp.
Robert S. Reitman - Riverbend Advisors
Capital Campaign Steering Committee
John D. Andrica - Union Partners, LLC
Julia S. Bolton - Civic Leader
Edward P. Campbell - Nordson Corporation
Daniel E. Klimas - Lorain National Bank
victor gelb - victor gelb, inc.
Robert D. Gries - Gries Investments
David H. Gunning - Cleveland-Cliffs Inc
Sondra J. Hardis - Civic Leader
William B. Lawrence - Formerly of TRW
William E. MacDonald, III - National City Corporation
Ernest J. Novak, Jr. - Formerly of Ernst & Young
Bonnie Osher - Civic Leader
James R. Pender - Oswald Companies
Lauren Spilman - Civic Leader
Susan H. Turben - Turben Developmental Services
Executive Leadership
Art J. Falco - President and Chief Executive Officer, Playhouse Square Foundation
Kathryn P. Jensen - Chief Operating Officer, ideastream
Jerrold F. Wareham - President and Chief Executive Officer, ideastream
Campaign Staff
Bill Hilyard - Director of Capital Campaign and Planned Giving, Playhouse Square Foundation
Theodora S. Wolf - Senior Director of Institutional Relations, ideastream
Thomas W. Adler
Chairman, PSF Management Corporation, LLC
Trustee, Playhouse Square Foundation
"Two nonprofit organizations, with separate ideas, are merging together for this renovation project for the benefit of each other and the benefit of the community. It's going to become a really exciting place."
Henry L. Meyer III
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, KeyCorp
Trustee, ideastream
"Instead of asking for three buildings - for public radio, public TV, and PlayhouseSquare for the arts - we're sharing studios, we're sharing things that we would otherwise have to do unilaterally."
Jon H. Outcalt
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Process Corporation
Vice Chair, Nominating & Governance, Playhouse Square Foundation Board of Trustees
"We're going to have one capital campaign, one construction project and one building to maintain."
Robert S. Reitman
Principal, Riverbend Advisors
Emeritus Trustee, ideastream
"The collaboration between ideastream and PlayhouseSquare Foundation is uniquely responsive to the call from both the corporate and philanthropic communities for optimal utilization of precious resources."
The list of Ideastream Public Media Trustees during the Campaign for Idea Center was as follows.
Jeanette Grasselli Brown - Chairman
Edward P. Campbell - Vice Chair and Treasurer
William R. Stewart - Secretary
Jerrold F. Wareham - Chief Executive Officer
Kathryn P. Jensen - Chief Operating Officer
Dennis L. Allen
Selma A. Baron
Barbara Byrd-Bennett
William R. Calfee
Mary Beth Carroll
Thomas J. Cook
George R. Droder
Michael A. Ellis
Patty Hayes
Charlotte A. Fowler
Cheri Gardiner
Karen R. Haefling
Sondra Hardis
David G. Hill
James D. Ireland III
Richard J. Knapp
Rik Kohn
Ralph M. Kovel
William B. Lawrence
Marcia Levine
Toby Lewis
Frank L. Lordeman
Priscilla M. Luce
William E. MacDonald, III
Christine A. Mayer
Henry L. Meyer III
Susie Frazier Mueller
Patrick M. Prout
Barbara S. Rosenthal
Vladimir J. Rus
Michael Schwartz
Shirley Stineman
Louis Stokes
Linda A. Striefsky
James E. Sweetnam
Helen N. Tomlinson
Susan H. Turben
Andrew A. Venable, Jr.
Robert A. Weible
Jeff Weiss
Margaret W. Wong
Emeritus Trustees
George Dobrea
George J. Dunn
Robert D. Gries
Arthur S. Holden, Jr.
Samuel H. Miller
Lindsay J. Morgenthaler
Robert S. Reitman
John E. Rupert
Harry H. Stone
Seth C. Taft
Dudley J. Taw
Alexander S. Taylo
The list of Playhouse Square Trustees during the Campaign for Idea Center was as follows.
K.K. Sullivan* - Chairman
Art J. Falco* - President & CEO
John G. Chapman* and Neil C. Weinberger* - Vice Chair, Development
James R. Pender* - Vice Chairs, Education
Ernest J. Novak, Jr.* - Vice Chair, Finance
Thomas E. Wagner* - Vice Chair, Government Affairs
Jon H. Outcalt* - Vice Chair, Nominating & Governance
Darrell A. Young* - Vice Chair, Real Estate Development
Sara Ellen Stashower* - Vice Chair, Sales & Marketing
John D. Andrica* - Vice Chair, Strategic Planning
Thomas C. Stevens* - Secretary/Treasurer
Trustees
Terry Adelman
Thomas W. Adler*
Warren E. Anderson*
Julia S. Bolton
Glenn R. Brown
Marjorie M. Carlson
Paul Clark
Christopher M. Connor
Margot James Copeland
William H. Coquillette
Jeffrey D. Cristal
Paul J. Dolan
Richard H. Fearon
victor gelb*
Ann W. Gillespie*
David H. Gunning
Lawrence H. Hatch
Oliver C. Henkel, Jr.*
David G. Hill
Robert J. Joyce
Margaret M. Judd
Daniel E. Klimas
William B. Lawrence
John F. Lewis*
Robert M. Long
Barry Minoff
Hector R. Ortino
Bonnie Osher
James A. Ratner
James A. Samuels
Luci Schey
John B. Schulze
Michael Schwartz
William R. Seelbach
Lauren Spilman
David J. Strauss
Jerry Sue Thornton
Robert J. Tomsich
Dominic A. Visconsi
Michael R. Weil
Thomas M. Welsh
Jacqueline F. Woods
Trustee for Life
Edward H. deConingh, Jr.
Forrest D. Hayes
Lois U. Horvitz
Julien L. McCall
Lindsay J. Morgenthaler
Rena J. Olshansky
Victor J. Scaravilli
James B. Wolf, Jr.
National Trustee
Lawrence J. Wilker
*Denotes Executive Committee Members
Visionary
Westfield Insurance
Principal Benefactors
The 1525 Foundation
The Cleveland Foundation
The George Gund Foundation
KeyBank
The Kresge Foundation
Peter B. Lewis
David & Lindsay Morgenthaler
The Reinberger Foundation
The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation
State of Ohio
U.S. Federal Government
Major Benefactors
Eva L. & Joseph M. Bruening Foundation
Kulas Foundation
John P. Murphy Foundation
National City
Jane & Jon Outcalt
Parker Hannifin
Lois & Tom Stauffer
Susan & John Turben
Benefactors
Jeanette Grasselli Brown & Glenn R. Brown
Eaton Corporation
Forest City Enterprises
Sondra & Stephen Hardis
Lois U. Horvitz
The Lerner Foundation
Toby Devan Lewis
Arnold & Sydell Miller Family Foundation
Eric & Jane Nord Foundation
Nordson Corporation
Ohio Savings Bank
John & Bonnie Osher
The Robert S. & Sylvia K. Reitman Family Foundation
K.K. & Joe Sullivan
Principal Contributors
Joanie & Tom Adler
Baker Hostetler
Mr. & Mrs. Charles P. Bolton
Barbara & Evan Corns
George & Becky Dunn
Fairmount Minerals
FirstEnergy Foundation
The GAR Foundation
Sally & Bob Gries
The Hershey Foundation
Nancy & Rik Kohn
Ralph & Terry Kovel
The Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust
Marcia W. Levine
The Lincoln Electric Foundation
The Mandel Foundation - Jack, Joseph & Morton Mandel
Jane & Henry Meyer
David & Inez Myers Foundation
The Nord Family Foundation
The Julia & Larry Pollock Family
Sally & John Schulze
The Sherwick Fund
The STERIS Foundation
Robert & Suzanne Tomsich
The Treu-Mart Fund
Dominic A. Visconsi
Thomas H. White Foundation, a KeyBank Trust
Wolf Family Foundation
Major Contributors
Terry & Sheldon Adelman
American Greetings Corporation
The George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation
Morton & Rosalie Cohen
Dominion Foundation
Charlotte & Charles Fowler Foundation
Arthur S. & Arlene Holden
Jones Day Foundation
Henri Pell Junod, Jr.
Milton A. & Charlotte R. Kramer Charitable Foundation
Susie & Bill MacDonald
The John C. & Sally S. Morley Family Foundation
NACCO Industries, Inc.
Oatey Co.
The William J. & Dorothy K. O'Neill Foundation
The Plain Dealer
The Sage Cleveland Foundation
SandFair Foundation
Luci & Ralph Schey Foundation
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P.
Tom & Maryann Wagner
Contributors
The Abington Foundation
John & Diane Andrica
Applied Industrial Technologies
Austin Memorial Foundation
The William Bingham Foundation
William R. Calfee
Ed & Sharon Campbell
Harry & Marjorie M. Carlson
John & Pat Chapman
Jill & Paul Clark
The Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation
Julie & Jeffrey Cristal
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas W. Cristal
Mr. & Mrs. Edward deConingh, Jr.
Paul & Karen Dolan
Hank & Mary Doll
Karen & David Doll
George & Debbie Droder
Michael & Diane Ellis
Art & Maryann Falco
Susie Frazier & Tim Mueller
Lisa & Tom Furnas
Vic & Joan Gelb
David & Robin Gunning
Bahman & Lora Guyuron
Karen & Todd Haefling
Annette & Forrest Hayes
Patty J. Hayes
Sally & Oliver Henkel
The Higley Fund
Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Horvitz
James D. Ireland III
Kit Jensen
JND Properties LLC
Jo-Ann Stores, Inc.
Joseph P. & Nancy F. Keithley Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Klimas
Richard J. Knapp & Virginia E. Mattingly
Mr. & Mrs. Charles J. Koch
Marvin & Carol Lader
William B. & Mary Margaret Lawrence
Cathy & John Lewis
Mr. & Mrs. Robert M. Long
Mr. & Mrs. Frank Lordeman
The Lubrizol Foundation
Priscilla & Robert Luce
Julien L. McCall
Barry Minoff
Myers Industries, Inc.
Mr. & Mrs. Robert D. Neary
OMNOVA Solutions Foundation
The Patrick S. Parker Family
Kathy & Jim Pender
Richard W. & Patricia R. Pogue
The PolyOne Corporation
Mrs. Alfred M. Rankin
James & Susan Ratner
RPM International Inc.
The Elizabeth & Ellery Sedgwick Fund
Nancy & Bill Seelbach
Select Equity Group Foundation
The Sherwin-Williams Company
Lauren & Steven Spilman
Chris & Tom Stevens
Bill & Sandy Stewart
Shirley Stineman
Mr. & Mrs. David Strauss
The William & Pamela Summers Family
Thompson Hine LLP
Helen N. Tomlinson
Nina & Norman Wain
Anne & Jerry Wareham
Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Weiss
Margaret W. Wong & Assoc. Co. LPA
Bennett & Donna Yanowitz
Darrel & Andria Young
Other Loyal Supporters
Albert T. Adams
Dick & Joan Ainsworth
Dennis & Sheri Allen
Warren E. Anderson
Selma & Stanley Baron
The Bartlett Family Fund
Mr. & Mrs. James Bayman
Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Brumi
Barbara Byrd-Bennett
Peter & Rita Carfagna and The Carfagna Family Foundation
Robert & Mary Calsin
Charlie & Mary Beth Carroll
Leigh & Mary Carter
Ms. Katharyn L. Clyde
Geary & Shelley Cochran
Mr. & Mrs. Christopher M. Connor
Tom & Anita Cook
Margot James Copeland
Janet & Bill Coquillette
George & Jean Dobrea
Sandy & Dennis Eckart
Tom & Cindy Einhouse
Richard & Robyn Fearon
The Ferro Foundation
Duncan & Cheri Gardiner
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph E. Gardner
The Judith Gerson Fund of The Cleveland Foundation
Erin & Lincoln Gisel
Rochelle & Harley I. Gross
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Hardy
Lawrence & Linda Hatch
Mr. & Mrs. Robert T. Hexter
Mrs. Allene R. Hill
Edith F. Hirsch
Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Joyce
Executive Arrangements, Inc.
Nedra A. Kalish
R. Steven & Denise Kestner
Stewart & Donna Kohl
Edmund & Laura Leopold
Christine & Richard Mayer
Karen A. Miller
Laini K. Montlack & Paul Krakovitz
Murlan J. Murphy, Jr.
Cynthia & Robert Naegele
Mr. & Mrs. Ernest J. Novak Jr.
Rena Blumberg Olshansky
The Prout Group, Inc.
Amy & Ken Rogat
Barbara S. Rosenthal
Jack & Jinny Rupert
Thea & Vlad Rus
Gordon & Evie Safran
James A. Samuels
Diann & Victor J. Scaravilli
Liz & Tom Schorgl
Drs. Michael & Joanne Schwartz
Laura & Alvin A. Siegal
Paul & Jan Silla
Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Smith
Sara E. Stashower & Mark Heller
Louis Stokes, U.S. Congress (retired)
James Carlson & Linda A. Striefsky
Jim & Elizabeth Sweetnam
Franny & Seth Taft
Mr. Dudley J. Taw
Alexander S. Taylor
Jerry Sue Thornton, Ph.D.
Joanne Travers
Hal & Ronna Uhrman
Andrew A. Venable, Jr.
WBNS-10 TV
Mr. Robert A. Weible
Michael & Hannah Weil
Thomas M. & Kathleen Welsh
Mr. & Mrs. Loyal Wilson
Jack & Jacqueline Woods
Brian R. Wynne
Molly H. Young