When the $265 million Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts opened on December 16, 2001, it crowned Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts as one of the nation’s premier performing arts districts. Stretching more than four-and-a-half miles along Broad Street, the Avenue of the Arts was designated in 1993 by representatives of the region’s business, political, community and arts leadership. Since that time, new additions in and around the Avenue, as well as legendary tenants such as the historic Academy of Music, have transformed it into a mecca for tourists, businesses and performing arts lovers of all kinds. A new cultural and architectural landmark, The Kimmel Center is helping to establish Philadelphia as one of the country’s foremost art centers.

As the anchor for the Avenue of the Arts, The Kimmel Center for Performing Arts is an oasis for lovers of the performing arts. Visitors to The Kimmel can experience classical, contemporary and jazz music and dance performed by resident and visiting companies. While at The Kimmel, they’re also in close proximity to some of the city’s other premier major performing arts venues. The Kimmel Center serves as the home to several cultural institutions including the Philadelphia Orchestra, PHILADANCO, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the Philly Pops and the American Theater Arts for Youth. The venerable Academy of Music, which opened in 1857, is the oldest opera house in the country and also home of the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Ballet. Together The Kimmel Center and the Academy form the Regional Performing Arts Center (RPAC).

Performing arts venues located along the Avenue include the 300-seat Wilma Theater, showcasing innovative drama and musicals by national and local groups; the Merriam Theater, a 1,688-seat facility, offering a full schedule of drama and musical productions from local, university, regional and national companies; Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and the Performing Arts, one of the country’s premier organizations, dedicated solely to jazz music, history and instruction. Within the district is the Prince Theater, named after legendary theater producer Hal Prince. The 300-seat venue presents a variety of American musical theater as well as film. The University of the Arts (UArts) is the only university in the nation devoted exclusively to education in design and the visual and performing arts.

Located north of City Hall is The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, (PAFA), a museum of American art founded in 1805. It is America’s oldest arts school and museum and the repository of the nation’s most distinguished collection of American art. Freedom Theatre is the nation’s oldest and largest African American theatrical institution.

From new construction to renovations of landmark buildings, hotels along the Avenue of the Arts offer visitors diversity in architecture, design, price and amenities. With close proximity to the city’s Convention Center, the Avenue has seen the opening of many new properties in the last several years, most notably:

• The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia Hotel, a reconstruction of the exquisite, neo-classical domed Mellon/Girard Bank building featuring a rotunda with public areas, two full-service restaurants and a bar. An adjacent tower houses 331 rooms, a tobacco lounge and the Ritz Carlton Club, a private lounge with dramatic skyline views and private access to 45 club rooms and suites.
• The 170-room Park Hyatt at the Bellevue Hotel, located in a magnificently restored national historic landmark building, features one of the city’s most memorable views from its 19^th floor restaurant. Guests at the Bellevue also have access The Sporting Club.
• One of the greatest works of the 20^th century, the PSFS (Philadelphia Savings Fund Society) building has been converted into the new 585-room Loews Philadelphia Hotel, located just off the Avenue (and two blocks from the Pennsylvania Convention Center). Designed by George Howe and William Lescaze, the building was erected in 1932 and was the first international style, modernist high-rise building. Today, the building retains period details, as well as modern amenities such as a health spa, business center, spinning room, lap pool and more than 40,000 square feet of multi-purpose space.
• Completed in November 1999, the 500-room Courtyard by Marriott, in the City Hall Annex, just off Broad Street, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The 270-room, Art Deco-style Residence Inn by Marriott, in the former Market Street National Bank, is now under construction. It will offer extended-stay rooms ranging from studios to one- and two-bedroom suites that include a fully equipped kitchen. The property will also offer meeting space and fitness facilities.
• The 425-room Doubletree Hotel offers visitors full-service amenities as well as a spectacular view of the Academy of Music.

The Avenue of the Arts is undergoing its own mini-restaurant boom. Local icon Neil Stein has opened Avenue B, an eatery with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the Avenue, serving Tuscan-inspired dishes. In February 2001, Capital Grille joined the Avenue. Set in a warm, club-like atmosphere, it specializes in steaks aged on the premises and seafood, plus an extensive wine list. Other steak restaurants on the Avenue are The Palm, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and Morton’s of Chicago. McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant, based in Seattle, debuted on the Avenue in May 2001. It serves only the freshest seafood, flying it in twice daily from coastal waters around the world. Sharing the same building at Broad and Locust are Sotto Varalli also serving seafood, and Upstares at Varalli, serving Italian dishes in a colorful setting. Pompeii and the Italian Bistro also serve Italian and Zanzibar Blue offers soul food and live jazz. In the Ritz Carlton Philadelphia hotel is Pantheon, serving breakfast and dinner with a view of the hotel’s magnificent rotunda and the Paris Bar and Grill, serving Continental cuisine. Cited as one of America's Top 50 Hotel Restaurants in the May 2002 issue of Food & Wine, Founders, located on the top floor of the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue, offers one of the best views of the city. Just off the Avenue is Toto, an upscale Italian restaurant. The Food Court at the Bellevue and several coffee shops provide a quick bite for shoppers and strollers. Nearby, the Rittenhouse Square area offers outdoor cafes, four star restaurants and upscale bars – with critical mass along and around Walnut Street and Rittenhouse Square.

Shopping options on and off the Avenue are also expanding. You’ll find flagship stores for Banana Republic and Tower Records, and the shops in the Bellevue include a chic Nicole Miller boutique, Tiffany’s and William Sonoma. Just off the Avenue, Rittenhouse Row is a shopping and dining district surrounding Rittenhouse Square. Here are some of the city’s best shops and boutiques, including Ann Taylor, The Gap, Jaeger, KnitWit, Kenneth Cole, Joan Shepp, Lagos, Blue Mercury cosmetics, Waterworks, Children’s Boutique, Children’s Place, Barnes & Noble and Border’s Books.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation is a non-profit organization dedicated to generating awareness of and visitation to Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the Independence Visitor Center at (800) 537-7676.

###

Note to Editors: For photographic images of Philadelphia and its surrounding countryside visit the photo gallery section of www.gophila.com/pressroom/.