Smith Center for the Performing Arts, Performing arts center in Downtown Las Vegas, United States.
The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue in downtown Las Vegas featuring three theaters across two buildings. The main hall seats 2,050 people, while two smaller theaters provide additional performance spaces for different types of shows.
Plans for a performing arts center in Las Vegas began around 1994, when the city lacked a venue for touring Broadway shows and major orchestras. The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation gave $150 million in 2005, and a Clark County car-rental fee helped repay $105 million in bonds. Groundbreaking took place on May 26, 2009, and the $470 million center opened on March 10, 2012, named for Fred and Mary Smith.
The center's resident companies are the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Nevada Ballet Theatre. Its stages also host touring Broadway productions such as The Lion King, Wicked and Hamilton. The Blue Iris, Mary Smith's favorite flower, appears as a decorative motif in select places.
The three venues sit in two buildings: Reynolds Hall in its own building, Myron's Cabaret Jazz and the Troesh Studio Theater in the Boman Pavilion. The 2-acre Reynolds Symphony Park lawn hosts outdoor performances. The site lies within Symphony Park in downtown Las Vegas, with the 17-story carillon tower marking the corner.
A 17-story bell tower with 47 bells rises on the grounds as a visual landmark. The architecture draws inspiration from the nearby Hoover Dam, connecting the center to the region's engineering heritage.
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