Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center

Listings

Classes: Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center

We offer a wide variety of classes for all different age groups. Classes are another excellent way to perfect your artistic skills. Inquire about times and dates for classes by clicking the "Send Inquiry" button.

Camps: Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center

Camps are a great way for kids to get introduced to the basics of art and drawing. Inquire about times and dates by clicking the "Send Inquiry" button.

Parties: Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center

There is nothing better than hosting a group of friends for your next party at our studio. Inquire about times and dates for your next party by clicking the "Send Inquiry" button.

Details

1 W 2nd St Dayton, OH 45402
(937) 228-3630
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Business Overview

Since 1912, the corner of Second and Main Streets in downtown Dayton has held a prominent spot in the community. That was the year Frederick Rike opened Rike's department store at the location. For many years, the Rike's store at Second and Main prospered as one of Dayton's premier shopping locales.The store's fortunes declined in the '70s as customers abandoned downtown in favor of suburban shopping malls. Following several corporate mergers and a name change to Lazarus, the store finally closed in 1992. The Dayton Business Committee (DBC) and the Downtown Dayton Partnership, endeavoring to improve the city's business and entertainment environment, realized the need to develop a plan for the old Lazarus/Rike's building site. At about this time, a team comprised of Tom Danis, David Holmes, Steve Mason and Ron Budzik met at the Mead headquarters building and decided to find a way to create excitement downtown by creating a multiple-use development on one the cornerstone blocks in the center of the city. In 1995, the team formed a group to raise early capital funds to purchase the Lazarus/Rike's building and the adjacent parking garage. Mead Corp., Reynolds & Reynolds and Danis Corp. were among the first businesses to respond. The initial group, when complete, was comprised of 22 local businesses and community leaders that became Second and Main Ltd., which took its name from the building's location. Their intention was to return this location to prominence with a signature project, and create a focal point for downtown Dayton's renaissance. In the summer of 1998 the Executive Committee of Second and Main requested and received architectural concepts from several local and national firms. After reviewing a number of options, the Executive Committee of Second and Main ultimately chose the design of architect Cesar Pelli. His work includes Cincinnati's Aronoff Center, the Charlotte Performing Arts Center, London's Canary Wharf Tower, New York's World Financial Center, and Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers, currently the world's tallest building. "Cesar came with some interesting conceptual designs," said Mason. "We had exposed a first design to some focus groups in the community and they looked at a proposal of hotel, office buildings and the arts center and said, �that is very interesting, but we need some housing'. That's when the concept for a tower that combined a hotel and apartments, as well as a performing arts center, came into being." In the summer of 1998 Second and Main held a series of public sector meetings with the State of Ohio, City of Dayton, Montgomery County and Miami Valley RTA to develop a set of viable public funding options for the project. The successful outcome from these meetings culminated in leadership financial commitments from Montgomery County, Miami Valley RTA, and the City of Dayton. Read more