The City of De Pere, Wis., began in the 17th century as a fishing village with a monastery, grew to be an incorporated city by the 1860s and has a National Register of Historic Places historic district with dozens of homes in a variety of styles that were built from the early 19th to early 20th centuries.
That architectural legacy is only part of what makes the small city attractive to some. Now, thanks to the generosity of James and Miriam Mulva, who have in recent years donated tens of millions of dollars to various groups, a new artistic focal point will draw new visitors, and enliven the historic town.
The wife and husband philanthropists recently announced designs for the Mulva Cultural Center, which will be in De Pere. The building will have an exterior made of transparent glass and will be a setting of arts activities and a focal point of the city’s arts community.
See Also: Puerto Rican mixed-use, mixed income housing development begins construction
Designed by the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architecture firm (SOM), the center will be situated along the Fox River.
“The hiring of SOM as the architect for the Mulva Cultural Center shows just how significant this project is for the City of De Pere and the people of Northeast Wisconsin. It underscores our family’s longstanding commitment to enhancing the community my wife Miriam and I have known and loved since our childhood,” says Jim Mulva. “We are honored and thrilled to partner with SOM on what is a grand plan for bringing this addition to the heart of historic downtown De Pere as part of the city’s new Cultural District Master Plan.”
The 60,000-square-foot center will host traveling art exhibitions, provide cultural programming and educational programming, and host other activities. The plans for the center follow a long-term strategy for the future of the city, which is in the Greater Green Bay Area.
“As a city, we have always been incredibly proud of our rich history and traditions while also endlessly striving to build a vibrant and forward-thinking future,” says De Pere Mayor Mike Walsh. “The Mulva Cultural Center embodies that spirit. We look forward to this world-class addition, and we are grateful for this significant opportunity to enrich and grow our community.”
The Mulva Cultural Center will have an open-air atrium spanning the building’s three stories., and a large auditorium. The center also will have flexible permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, event space, classrooms, a café, and an outdoor terrace.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Biograph Theater
Located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Theater Company has welcomed up-and-coming playwrights for 33 years. In 2004, the company expanded its campus with the purchase of the Biograph Theater for its new main stage. Built in 1914, the theater was one of the city's oldest remaining neighborhood movie houses, and it was part of Chicago's gangster lore: in 1934, John Dillin...
| Aug 11, 2010
Top of the rock—Observation deck at Rockefeller Center
Opened in 1933, the observation deck at Rockefeller Center was designed to evoke the elegant promenades found on the period's luxury transatlantic liners—only with views of the city's skyline instead of the ocean. In 1986 this cultural landmark was closed to the public and sat unused for almost two decades.
| Aug 11, 2010
Putting the Metal to the Petal
The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine was founded in 1985, but the organization didn't have a permanent home until May 2008. That's when the Michael Klahr Center, which houses the HHRC, opened on the Augusta campus of the University of Maine. The design, by Boston-based architects Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott, was selected from among more than 200 entries in a university-s...
| Aug 11, 2010
Jefferson Would Be Proud
The Virginia State Capitol Building—originally designed by Thomas Jefferson and almost as old as the nation itself—has proudly served as the oldest continuously used Capitol in the U.S. But more than two centuries of wear and tear put the historical landmark at the head of the line for restoration.
| Aug 11, 2010
Let There Be Daylight
The new public library in Champaign, Ill., is drawing 2,100 patrons a day, up from 1,600 in 2007. The 122,600-sf facility, which opened in January 2008, certainly benefits from amenities that the old 40,000-sf library didn't have—electronic check-in and check-out, new computers, an onsite coffeehouse.
| Aug 11, 2010
American Tobacco Project: Turning over a new leaf
As part of a major revitalization of downtown Durham, N.C., locally based Capitol Broadcasting Company decided to transform the American Tobacco Company's derelict 16-acre industrial plant, which symbolized the city for more than a century, into a lively and attractive mixed-use development. Although tearing down and rebuilding the property would have made more economic sense, the greater goal ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Bronze Award: Alumni Gymnasium Renovation, Dartmouth College Hanover, N.H.
At a time when institutions of higher learning are spending tens of millions of dollars erecting massive, cutting-edge recreation and fitness centers, Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., decided to take a more modest, historical approach. Instead of building an ultra-grand new facility, the university chose to breathe new life into its landmark Alumni Gymnasium by transforming the outdated 99-y...
| Aug 11, 2010
Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design
When tasked with transforming an early 1920s Italian Renaissance bank building into a fully functional library for the Rhode Island School of Design, the Building Team for RISD's Fleet Library found itself at odds with the project's two main goals. On the one hand, the team would have to carefully restore and preserve the historic charm and ornate architectural details of the landmark space, d...
| Aug 11, 2010
Gold Award: The Lion House, Bronx Zoo Bronx, N.Y.
Astor Court sits at the heart of the 265-acre Bronx Zoo, and its six Beaux Arts buildings were constructed at the turn of the 20th century to house exotic animals from around the world. When the Lion House was built in 1903, the brick and limestone facility was considered state-of-the-art, but as standards of animal care advanced, the lions were moved into a more natural setting, and the Lion H...
| Aug 11, 2010
The pride of Pasadena
As a shining symbol of civic pride in Los Angeles County, Pasadena City Hall stood as the stately centerpiece of Pasadena's Civic Center since 1927. To the casual observer, the rectangular edifice, designed by San Francisco Classicists John Bakewell, Jr., and Arthur Brown, Jr., appeared to be aging gracefully.
