Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre Tops Out

Stages
Dallas Center for the Performing Arts

Spring 2008

On May 8, the construction site of the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre took on a celebratory air: hundreds of Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Board members, donors, city officials and design and construction team members filled a large tent on the edge of the site for a close-up view of the Topping Out of the Wyly Theatre.

Surrounded by members of his family, Center Board member Charles Wyly gave the cue for a crane to lift the 1,200-pound steel beam 132 feet into the air - the highest point of the superstructure of the Wyly Theatre, named for contributions totaling $20 million from Dee and Charles Wyly and Cheryl and Sam Wyly.

As guests entered the tent, each person signed the 35-foot long steel Topping Out beam. The beam was painted bright green to match the color of the theatre chairs that will eventually fill the Potter Rose Performance Hall.

City officials, including Mayor Tom Leppert and Arts District Coordinator Veletta Forsythe Lill, were also on site to celebrate the end of vertical construction of the Wyly Theatre. Board chair Howard Hallam and Board members Bess Enloe and Deedie Rose, who both played essential roles in the selection of the architects for the Wyly Theatre and throughout the design process, commented on the significance of the moment as well as the impact the innovative building will have when open in October 2009.

With the building at its full height, the structural steel frame of the Wyly Theatre is nearly complete and, within the next few months, the temporary columns currently supporting the structure will be removed.