- After languishing for 20 years, one of the Midwest’s finest performance venues has re-opened and is receiving rave reviews because of the expert and careful restoration and renovation by St. Louis-based Paric.
The Peabody Opera House, known in its earlier life as St. Louis’ Kiel Auditorium, opened originally in 1934. Two generations later, public expectations of a great performance venue have changed; Paric has brought the beautiful, stately structure up to date.
The challenge was both to maintain amazing acoustics in an elegant auditorium seating 3,500, while also adding quiet air conditioning, modern fire protection, washroom facilities, kitchen and dining facilities and all the space and technical needs required by today’s touring Broadway productions.
Smaller, open auditoriums adjoining each side of the main room and seating up to 700 each required special touches and just as much care. Still additional large venues above and below the main auditorium were restored for special uses.
Paric began the complex, two-year construction project with months of research into the details of the structure and the original furnishings -- detailed research that included sending samples of the original paint to a lab to determine the very specific, original colors.
Paric’s careful research was matched by management’s careful and deliberate approach to the empty, nearly forgotten building which had been modeled on the great opera houses of Europe. Detailed planning, regular face-to-face conferences with sub-contractors and consultants, plus a hands-on approach from management resulted in a successful project, delivered on-time and on-budget. Talented craftspeople from throughout the St. Louis region were recruited to lend their expertise and special finishing touches.
The Peabody Opera House is attracting new and different performances, once again adding top-flight experiences to the memory banks and to the quality of life for millions of Midwesterners.
Paric, one of the largest St. Louis-based companies, pairs design/build services with construction management and negotiated general construction to offer its “next level” experience. Organized in 1979, Paric specializes in historic renovations, senior living, industrial and institutional facilities, office interiors and the construction of healthcare facilities, commercial buildings and environmental systems. More information about Paric is available at www.paric.com.
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