The Long Center

Last week, Austin finally got a preforming arts center to call our own. It apparently not only rocks, but after 4 years of construction they managed to use a sizable amount of the old building as well:

…65% of the materials in it were recycled from Palmer, including 500 tons of steel, the stage house and foundation, mahogany from the Philippines, marble from an Italian quarry no longer being mined, and those love-’em-or-hate-’em roof tiles.

The idea of revamping the Palmer was conceived in the money-falling-from-the-sky era of the tech boom and went through a typically Austin level of drama as funds dried up, designs were scaled back and board members left the project.  A solid ten years later, the hard work has finally paid off.