The Chicago Children’s Theatre officially opens its new home in the shuttered 12th District Police Station this week, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony is being held January 17 to celebrate.
According to local publication DNAinfo Chicago, the ribbon-cutting ceremony is held at 10:30 AM in celebration of the $8.5 million new home.
The company’s website states that the Station Open House will be held later this week, on January 22 from 3–5 PM at 100 S. Racine Avenue, located at the corner of Racine and Monroe in the West Loop, just blocks from the Racine Blue line.
The free event will offer building tours, free classes, snacks, giveaways, and more. The event is free, but patrons are asked to pre-register here.
A press release from Chicago Children’s Theatre explains that this is only the first phase of what will eventually be the expanded footprint for the company. The Station is where CCT’s educational programming will be headquartered and begin in February. The venue includes five classrooms; a dedicated, year-round space for Red Kite interactive theatre for students with autism; a lobby with box office and concessions; the flexible, 149-seat Pritzker Family Studio Theatre; and support space.
Phase two will be completed in 2020, and will boast an addition to the building, anchored by a second, state-of-the-art, 299-seat theatre for the company’s mainstage programming. In the interim, while CCT will offer courses, camps, family experiences, and more inside The Station starting in February, mainstage productions will continue to be presented at CCT’s current performance home, the Ruth Page Center for the Arts at 1016 N. Dearborn Street in Chicago.
For more information on the company, visit ChicagoChildrensTheatre.org.
