Once upon a time, landmark institutions -- just like people at birth -- were given names so the community could embrace them by a familiar moniker for a lifetime. But no more. Not since public and private entities decided that collecting an attractive, annual revenue stream was reason enough to sell the institution naming rights to corporate America.
I've stewed about this practice for years. The ire resurfaced March 5 while shooting my photos at Raleigh's performing arts center. The complex, which is into its second iteration of naming rights, houses not one, not two ... but four venues where various performing arts are featured. And there is a name attached to a fifth part of the complex as well.
Today, the umbrella corporation name for the expansive arts center site on the Southside of Downtown is Martin Marietta, a supplier of aggregate and heavy building materials. In previous lives, it was Duke Energy, the massive electric and gas power utility headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., and Business Telecom Inc. (now Earthlink).
The Raleigh arts complex (a long-range view appears in the photo leading off the post) serves as home venues for five resident performance companies -- North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Opera, North Carolina Theatre, the Carolina Ballet and PineCone, the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music). The venues or named entities are:
** The Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
** The Meymandi Concert Hall
** A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater
** Kennedy Theatre
** Lichtin Plaza
The plaza is the nicely landscape outdoor gathering place outside the physical structure, but it bears a name, so I include it here anyway. The latter four -- the Meymandi, Fletcher, Kennedy and Lichtin -- are relatively new to the complex, all opening in 2001.
The auditorium, which the center's Wikipedia entry describes as "the crown jewel of North Carolina performing arts," opened in 1932, replacing a facility that had burned to the ground. It has gone through several renovations over the years, and its name is dedicated to Raleigh residents who lost their lives serving in World War I.
The 1,587-seat Meymandi serves as the home concert hall of the North Carolina Symphony, the 600-seat Fletcher is used for ballet and comedy shows as well as opera. While the 150-seat Kennedy provides intimate settings for various performances but also is used as a rehearsal hall.
Below are additional shots of the grounds taken from various angles and directions, including with two pictures showing a piece of installation art and the Martin Marietta identification on a large piece of aggregate.
Previously in the series:
Part I: The North Carolina State Capitol at Union Square
Part II: Nash Square Park
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