The Smith Center for the Performing Arts - Summary Page

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This page last updated on 06/16/2019

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06/12/2019 Visit Notes: On June 12th Jim Herring and I attended a tour of the Smith Center. This was Jim's first visit and he loved it. This tour lasted nearly 1.5 hours and included a tour throughout the Smith Center including the Reynolds Concert Hall, the Box Seats, the elegant Founder’s Room and the Mezzanine Lounge where guests can gather for drinks and small bites before the show and at intermission, and the Myron's Cabaret Jazz Hall. Click here to read more about the Smith Center ... ReadMore - Smith Center for the Performing Arts -Facts & Figures. Participants must register online. Tours will be listed online thirty days prior to tour date. Go to ... Public Tours. 10/06/2012 Trip Notes: Unfortunately, my tour to The Smith Center for the Performing Arts ended in disappointment. The Smith Center screwed up and failed to have a guide available for our scheduled tour preventing us from being able to see anything inside this much acclaimed facility. Therefore, the first grouping of pictures that follow are limited to Symphony Park and the building’s exterior. The anchor for a 61-acre development called Symphony Park in downtown Las Vegas, this $470 million, 385,000 square foot Art Deco behemoth that looks historic from the outside but conceals the latest in theater technology inside. The building’s design elements were chosen to echo one of Nevada’s most renowned structures – the Hoover Dam. By incorporating many of the Art Deco features of this architectural masterpiece, located just 20 miles to the southeast, the architects have created a timeless building that will last for centuries. The exterior contains 2,458 tons of Indiana limestone and 4,000 tons of structural steel for the roof trusses and crown to the 170-foot, 47-bell carillon that anchors the structure. To contend with noise from nearby trains, helicopters from the University Medical Center and jets from Nellis Air Force Base, there is a sub-basement of concrete that is 36 inches thick and a roof that contains a 12-inch slab of concrete with an air gap and then another 10-inch layer of sound-deafening material. As you approach the building, you are quickly confronted with its clean, streamlined forms in everything from the polished stainless steel alloy windows; the 3-inch thick limestone and plastered facade (Fig. 01); the polished aluminum lighting fixtures; to the ornate aluminum trim and latticework. I assembled nearly a dozen exterior pictures showing some of the building’s most prominent Art Deco features to created the collage (Fig. 02) below.

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Symphony Park: The front façade of the Smith Center faces the 2-acre Donald W. Reynolds Symphony Park lawn (above) which will be used for outdoor performances and special public gatherings. This beautifully landscaped area contains several significant sculptures and bronze castings of prominent persons associated with the building’s funding and construction. Most notably is Tim Bavington's outdoor sculpture (Fig. 03) derived from the 1942 Aaron Copland composition, "Fanfare for the Common Man". The width and height of the colorful steel tubes correspond with notes and dynamics from the musical score. Painted with automobile paint, Bavington selected the colors to recall vintage Las Vegas – with the pastel blues offering tribute to the Mint Hotel and the magenta being reminiscent of the Stardust. Located on the east side of the park, this array of multicolored columns pointing into the sky contains built-in recessed accent lighting and will serve as a backdrop for the park’s outdoor stage.  Directly in front is the larger than life bronze sculpture of Donald W. Reynolds (Fig. 04) , founder of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation that contributed $150 million dollars to the building of The Smith Center. In the center of Symphony Park, is the colorful heart-shaped sculpture (Fig. 05) by local artist Miguel Rodriguez -- painted by Jennifer Main -- enjoining us to take a "Step of Faith" and "Dream Big." Gazing across the lawn to the west is a steel sculpture (Fig. 06) featuring curled, pinched, steel ribbons by New York sculptor Albert Paley. Its fluid contortions are a stark contrast to the rigid lines of Bavington's marching colored columns. Lastly, it would seem grossly unfair not to mention and show the bust (Fig. 07) dedicated to past mayor and long time proponent of this “vision” for Downtown Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman. In 2009, Mayor Goodman received the Leadership Award for Public Service given by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) for his efforts to revitalize downtown Las Vegas. Goodman’s biggest accomplishment is the 61-acre Symphony Park that includes the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health; the 5.1-million-square-foot World Market Center; the 539,000-square-foot Las Vegas Premium Outlets; the Molasky Corporate Center office complex and commercial mixed-use developer Forest City; and the 350,000-square-foot Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

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10/13/2012 Trip Notes: To make up for the botched tour visit last week, I made a follow up visit a week later to get the tour we had missed. Though we received a very good tour, we were once again disappointed when we were told that we could not enter the main concert hall to due a rehearsal that was going on at the time of our tour. In spite of that, here are the pictures that I shot during our tour. We started our tour by entering the main entrance (Fig. 08) to the Reynolds Hall. In addition to the building’s stunning architecture, the gorgeous interior of the Smith Center is a work of art unto itself. The interior features gleaming terrazzo floors, elegant 19'-long Deco-style chandeliers, stairs and columns made from three kinds of Italian marble, and rich wood panels and aluminum latticework decorating everything in between, all tied together with timeless art deco designs. I assembled more than fourteen interior pictures showing some of the most prominent Art Deco features to create the collage (Fig. 09) below, titled, The Art of Deco.

(Fig. 09) Title - The Art of Deco

(Fig. 10) The Grand Lobby: When entering from the west lobby entrance you are greeted with this view (Fig. 11) of the Grand Lobby and its three 19-foot chandeliers. As you begin to ascend the stairs on the right, you are confronted with a huge bronze sculpture (Fig. 10) that is the centerpiece of the Grand Lobby. Cast by Benjamin Victor, it was inspired by Oskar Hansen’s “Winged Figures of the Republic,” a pair of stone carvings that can be seen in a sitting position on the Nevada side of Hoover Dam. Dubbed the “Winged Genius,” Victor’s 19-foot-tall, 2,000-pound figure appears solo, while standing up and moving forward – to symbolize progress.

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The Mezzanine Level: Located on the second floor, the Mezzanine Level, contains the Box Tier Foyer and entrances (Fig. 12), the elegant Founder’s Room (Fig. 13)  where founders and their guests can meet pre-show and at intermission, and the Mezzanine Lounge (Fig. 14), a gathering spot for drinks and small bites before the show and at intermission. When you pre-order appetizers and cocktails at the Mezzanine Lounge bars, your order and table will be waiting for you at intermission.

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The Upper Lobby: Located on the third floor, this open lobby area, access to an outside terrace that provides views Symphony Park, is the perfect spot to gather before the show and at intermission to marvel at the view and enjoy refreshments from its several bars. It also contains the West Lounge and Carillon Salon, two private rooms that can be reserved for an intimate intermission gathering of you and your friends. The Carillon Salon features a balcony and is situated directly under our iconic Carillon Bell Tower. This level can be accessed by the center stairs (Fig. 16) or by elevators. The railed circular opening (Fig. 15) in the floor at the east end of the stairs is open all the way to the Grand Lobby (Fig. 17), three floors below, and provides light from overhead skylights. The final picture, (Fig. 18) is the only glimpse we were able to see of the 2,050 seat Reynolds Hall.

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More Smith Center Info: The Smith Center for the Performing Arts (aka the Smith Performing Arts Center, or The Smith Center), located in Downtown Las Vegas Nevada's Symphony Park, is a 4.75 acre theater facility consisting of three theaters in two buildings. The 2,050-seat Reynolds Hall for major concerts and touring productions, with a full orchestra pit capable of seating up to 100 musicians; the 258-seat Cabaret Jazz Theater (great for jazz, cabaret and other performances); and the 200-seat Troesh Studio Theater for rehearsals, children's theater, community events and private gatherings. It also features the 1.7-acre Symphony Park, an outdoor area that will offer concerts and act as a hub for social interaction. Having opened on March 10, 2012, the construction of this $470 million project was started May 26, 2009 after more than 15 years in the works, and is the first performing arts center in the nation to be LEED certified. It features a 170-foot, 17 story carillon tower containing 46 handcrafted bronze bells which span over four octaves. The Smith Center features international music, and dance companies, and will be the home of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Nevada Ballet Theatre.

It was funded by a public-private partnership.Publicly, the city of Las Vegas provided the land, infrastructure, environmental clean-up, and parking. The city of Las Vegas, Clark County and State Legislature collaborated on a car rental fee that resulted in a bond of $105 million, bringing the total city commitment to $170 million. Privately, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, in honor of their chairman, Fred W. Smith, and his wife, Mary, have given $150 million, the largest philanthropic donation in state history, and the second largest donation to the performing arts in the United States.

Play a Slide Show Clicking the picture-link below will open OneDrive in a new window and a folder containing 87 pictures taken of the Smith Center. To view the show, click on the first picture in the folder and you will get the following menu bar: Clicking the "Play slide show" will play a fullscreen window of the slide show.

Note: Every attempt is made to provide accurate information, but occasionally depictions are inaccurate by error of mapping, navigation or cataloging. The information on this site is provided without any warranty, express or implied, and is for informational and historical purposes only.