editorials

The name Cowles -- linked with this newspaper and its antecedents for 63 years -- is about to acquire another positive association in the Twin Cities. The long-awaited Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts will open with a gala weekend Sept. 9-11.

Its name honors John and Sage Cowles -- he the former president and CEO of Cowles Media, which owned the Star Tribune, and she a civic activist and former professional dancer who has been a nurturer of professional dance in Minnesota and around the country.

It's been 12 years since the theater portion of the Cowles Center assumed its current spot between 5th and 6th Streets on Hennepin Avenue, and almost that long since the vision of a downtown Minneapolis theater, education space and office devoted primarily to professional dance took root.

Judging from the oohs and aahs of the dancers who took the same tour we did of the nearly completed facility, it was worth the wait. Those who appreciate local history and architecture will get a kick out of the place, too.

The Cowles Center consists of two historic buildings, connected with a new entrance: the Hennepin Center for the Arts -- built in 1888 as the Masonic Temple by the same architects, Long and Kees, who built City Hall -- and the former Shubert Theater, built in 1910 as a vaudeville house.

The latter was spared the wrecking ball and moved more than full city block in 1999 to make way for construction of the Block E retail and entertainment complex. The move was a feat extraordinary enough to win recognition by the Guiness Book of World Records.

The Shubert's exterior has been retained and restored, and some of its interior features have been replicated. Its 505 seats are arranged to preserve the old house's cozy feeling; no seat is farther than 65 feet from the stage.

But the renamed Goodale Theater, in honor of benefactors Kathie and Bob Goodale, is a thoroughly modern dance and musical performance hall.

The community can see for itself what can be wrought when a commitment to both the performing arts and historic preservation combine.

An open house, free of charge, is planned from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11. For more information, see www.thecowlescenter.org.