Details have been revealed for the multi-year renovation of the Ravinia Festival grounds at 200 Ravinia park Road in Highland Park. Located around 25-miles north of The Loop, the iconic festival has called its current grounds home for over 100-years and grown to be globally recognized and the nation’s oldest music festival.
Historical images of Ravinia via Ravinia
History
Ravinia was originally built as an amusement park in 1904 in order to boost the ridership of the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railroad nearby, including a baseball diamond, fountain, and casino. This is also when the festival’s iconic Martin Theater was built, remaining as the only original building left.
Historical railroad ads for Ravinia via Ravinia
Historical image of previous pavilion via Ravinia
After a few years, the railroad itself failed and the amusement park as well, with local businessmen and residents banded together to purchase and revitalize the park in 1911. This is when music became the centerpiece of the grounds, having only gone quiet during the Great Depression and recent pandemic.
Construction of current pavilion via Ravinia
Over the years Ravinia became the summer Opera capital of the world and in 1936 it became the permanent summer of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The modern festival boasts educational programs that reach 75,000 kids across Chicago, with its performances attracting over 500,000 visitors annually.
Rendering of Hunter Pavilion via Ravinia
The ‘Setting The Stage’ Campaign
The multi-year and phase project will cost around $75 million to complete and will affect all of the performance areas within the 36-acre campus. Work has already commenced on a major revamp of the main stage/pavilion which will pause later this year in order for the 2025 summer season to proceed, with work on the pavilion expected to wrap up before the 2026 season.
Rendering of Hunter Pavilion via Ravinia
Rendering of Hunter Pavilion via Ravinia
Dating back to the 1950’s, the pavilion will be receiving a brand new, larger stage with new state of the art lighting and sound packages. This will allow for a better transition between shows and experience for guests. The 3,500 seats within it will also be completely replaced with new decorative wood accents inspired by the festival’s original grounds.
Rendering of Hunter Pavilion via Ravinia
Once completed, it will be renamed to the Hunter Pavillion after the family who donated the funds for the work. To the north of the stage, the existing backstage facilities will be revamped and expanded, adding new dressing rooms, lounges, storage, and most importantly, new loading docks which will speed up the festival’s turn-around time by four-times.
Rendering of new backstage facilities via Ravinia
Rendering of new backstage facilities via Ravinia
After the Hunter Pavilion is completed, work will continue in phases through 2029 on the other buildings. This includes a new stage for the Sandra K. Crown theater, structural renovations of the original Martin Theater, enhancements to Bennett Gordon Hall, and a new outdoor stage to replace the existing Carousel Stage
Currently Ravinia has collected over $50 million in funding for the campaign, with over $30 million coming from just two donations. Fundraising efforts are still ongoing and the work should not impact any of the upcoming seasons. More information on the campaign can be found here.
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What a boring way to spend $75M. It is heartbreaking to compare the historical images with the current design.