NEW YORK — "I loved the idea of makin’ somethin’ out of nothin’," Frank Gehry said to a captive, giggling audience yesterday in Manhattan. Speaking at a luncheon that took place in a half-built auditorium of bare floors and seats still covered in plastic, Gehry was referring to his design for the Signature Center, the Signature Theatre's forthcoming midtown home scheduled to open in at the end of January.
Gehry made his emotional ties to the project clear, calling it a "thrill and a gift." In 2003 he had originally signed on to design a $700 million freestanding center at ground zero, but then plans shifted: the center currently being built sits within a highrise complex of condominiums where a long-gone theater used to stand. "I worried it was going to be a very big disappointment after ground zero and I didn’t think anything was going to happen," he admitted, although the 70,000-square-foot project (the entire 42nd street block between 10th Avenue and Dyer Street) stands to become a major neighborhood cultural institution. Not only is it composed of three very intimate theaters, a public cafe, and bookstore, but Signature Theatre will also continue its $20 ticket initiative to make itself as accessible as possible to everyone. A major benefit is also the price tag, checking out at only $$66 million.
"It was pretty challenging, given that the buildings that are built for real estate and marketing and all those things are not friendly to this kind of effort. But the Related Companies [the site's developer] and their people turned out to be very helpful and friendly, as was the city," Gehry said. "Me and my team love working in theater. The guy said, 'All the world’s a stage', and I believe that."
He and James Houghton, Signature's founding artistic director, led us on a hardhatted tour, punctuated with the sounds of hammering nails and drilling holes, through the work-in-progress: the metal frameworks for the grand staircase, the exposed sheetrock of the rehearsal studios, the plywood foundation of the upcoming "Jewel Box" theater, the yet-to-be-filled perilous holes in the courtyard.
"I can’t thank Frank enough for sticking with us as we moved off of ground zero and came up to this new home. It's a relationship I will cherish for the rest of my life," said Houghton. "I hope we can all appreciate the contributions Frank's made to the cultural scene in New York."
While Houghton was referring to theater, Gehry's other recent contribution was to the city's landscape: New York by Gehry, an 870-foot addition of rippling metal to the skyline, which some have called "the new Chrysler building." "I like the Woolworth Building, but the Chrysler building’s fine too," Gehry told ARTINFO when asked about the comparison. "I was trying to make a New York building... there’s a certain character of New York. I’m standing next to the Woolworth building, which is the number one on my hit parade. I could do this to it [raises a middle finger] or I could do this to it [makes a hugging gesture]. I tried to do this to it [the hugging gesture]. I could’ve put a little hat on it and mimicked the thing, but I didn’t." For California-based architect, he has certainly made his mark on the Big Apple.
The Signature Center is slated to open on January 31 next year.