History

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Warner Theater opened in 1931 as a movie palace. From the 1930’s through the 1960’s, the theatre hosted various artists and vaudeville performers. In the early 1990’s, the Warner Theatre Preservation Trust concentrated on acquiring funds to restore the theatre, and in 2002, the first phase of the restoration and expansion project began. Improvements include: new seats, stage expansion, rehearsal hall, additional restrooms, elevator and new lighting, sound and HVAC equipment. The State Street marquee was also fully reconstructed and was re-lit after more than 40 years. In total, $40 million has been spent transforming a 1930’s movie house into a 21^st century performing arts facility.

Since its grand opening, the Warner Theatre has established itself as a major cultural center for the region. Millions have passed by the freestanding ticket booth of solid bronze through the doors and stepped into the luxurious gold-gilded Grand Lobby. There they saw the beauty of rich tapestries and French gold-backed mirrors. A regal staircase with exquisite bronze banisters leads them through an archway of marble, gold gilding and draped tapestry to the mezzanine. Czechoslovakian glass and crystal chandeliers create the soft lighting that enhances the grandeur of a structure unmatched in stature, opulence and beauty.

Warner Bros., today one of the world’s largest producers of film and television entertainment, commissioned the building of the Warner Theatre in 1929. The design goal for their luxury movie palaces was to create an environment “twice as rich, three times more fanciful than life.” Designed by architects Rapp & Rapp, the theatre was constructed at a cost of $1.5 million Depression-era dollars. The Chicago architectural firm built some of the nation’s most ornate theatres including New York City’s Times Square Paramount.

Warner Bros. also appointed the world-renowned Rambusch Studios in New York City to decorate the interior. Rambusch created a lavish art deco interior that would invite generations of theatre-goers to a palace of magnificence and fantasy. Considering the quality of the design and cost of the building materials used, the theatre would be virtually impossible to replace today. It was Erie’s first and has remained Erie’s only deluxe downtown picture palace.

When the Warner Theatre opened its doors April 10, 1931, more than 8,000 colored lights illuminated the 10-ton marquee that announced the feature film of the opening evening, “The Millionaire” starring George Arliss with James Cagney. Excitement and wonder of the patrons about the palatial splendor of the breathtaking new showplace filled the atmosphere.

In its early history, the theatre hosted various traveling shows. As well as presenting the pick of the major film releases, the theatre became an important link in the vaudeville circuits of the 1930s. On November 8, 1931, the Warner formally initiated a vaudeville season. Bob Hope made an appearance that November telling stories while sitting downstage on a barrel.

The “Mighty Wurlitzer” organ that once rose out of the floor and into the corner of the orchestra pit, provided music for vaudeville shows and accompanied the early talking motion pictures. Warner Bros. eventually donated the organ to the Western Reserve Chapter of American Theatre Organ Enthusiasts in 1969. The Cleveland Gray’s Armory Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, now houses the organ.

In 1971, Cinemette Corporation of America bought the Warner Theatre from the Stanley Warner Corporation. In 1974, the Erie Philharmonic had its first concert at the theatre. Since then, the philharmonic has continued to perform there. Cinemette operated the Warner until 1976, when the late Erie Mayor Louis J. Tullio heard the chain might want to sell the theatre. The mayor recognized the importance of saving it from planned demolition and had a vision of a civic center complex to provide venues for sports and arts entertainment to the region. With assistance from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, he negotiated a successful purchase of the building from Cinemette. Critical improvements were then made including installation of a new roof, restoration of lighting fixtures and rewiring of the house front and foyer areas.

In 1977, the Erie Civic Center Authority was formed and given the physical and fiscal management of the Warner Theatre, also referred to as the “Center for the Performing Arts.” With this change, the policy of the theatre once again included the production of live performances.

In 1981, the Broadway Theatre League began to bring in a series of top Broadway musicals performed by New York-based touring companies. Additionally, the Erie Civic Ballet Company began performing on the Warner’s stage. That same year, the Warner was listed on the commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Inventory of Museums and Historical Places, and on April 13, 1982, it was placed on the National Register for Historic Places.

The Warner Theatre’s stage has been host to many world-renowned performers through its years, including:

Tori Amos, Tony Bennett, Milton Berle, Theodore Bikel, Victor Borge, George Carlin, Johnny Cash, Tom Chapin, Chicago, Nat King Cole, Harry Connick Jr., David Copperfield, Sammy Davis Jr., Jimmy Dean, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Durante, Bob Dylan, Fabian, Dan Fogelberg, Frank Fontaine, Debbie Gibson, Eydie Gorme, Hal Holbrook, Bob Hope, Marilyn Horne, Irish Rovers, Sammy Kaye, B.B. King, Peter Lawford, Steve Lawrence, Jay Leno, The Lettermen, Guy Lombardo, Howie Mandel, Dave Matthews, Johnny Mathis, Dudley Moore, Lorrie Morgan, Willie Nelson, Wayne Newton, Patti Page, Dick Powell, Vincent Price, Righteous Brothers, Mark Russell, Jerry Seinfeld, Sinbad, Sally Struthers, Paul Whiteman, Andy Williams, George Winston, Trisha Yearwood.

Restoration

In 1931, the Warner Theatre opened its doors as a movie palace and vaudeville stage. Its glorious art deco interior reflected the glamour of such performers as Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope and Sammy Kaye. The Warner’s environment was perfect for the performances of the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, but as technology has exploded with innovation, so too have performances exploded with creativity. In 2002, the first phase of the restoration and expansion project began. Improvements include: new seats, stage expansion, rehearsal hall, additional restrooms, elevator and new lighting, sound and HVAC equipment. The State Street marquee was also fully reconstructed and was re-lit after more than 40 years. In total, $40 million was spent transforming a 1930’s movie house into a 21^st century performing arts facility.

How the Warner Theatre has changed:

• Exterior masonry and exquisite terra cotta reliefs repaired and repointed
• Restoration of marquee
• Interior surfaces cleaned, repaired, painted or refinished
• Replication and replacement of draperies, tapestries and carpeting
• Comfortable new seats in a new arrangement provide more seat width and leg room
• Seating for the disabled
• New heating and air conditioning system
• Major expansion and updating of women’s restrooms
• Complete updating of men’s restrooms
• New elevators providing disability access and simplifying the moving of furniture, props and performers

Major performance enhancements:

• A 15-foot addition to the stage, greatly increasing the variety and quality of artistic offerings and making the theatre more flexible as a meeting space
• New loading dock allowing for full-scale productions and providing easier handling of sets, props and costumes
• New electrical systems, stage lighting, rigging and audiovisual systems
• New hydraulic lift, orchestra pit and stage extension
• New orchestra shell
• Increased space for set storage
• New acoustics delivering better sound quality and clarity
• New dressing rooms and practice rooms
• New control rooms and “double-door” noise isolation vestibules
• New rehearsal hall and meeting facilities

The Erie Insurance Arena continues to be the premiere sports and entertainment venue in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Opening on June 16, 1983 with The Beach Boys, the arena hosts national touring artists, family shows, special events and has been the home to the Erie Otters for the past 26 years. A $52 million renovation and expansion project was completed in 2013 that included the addition of a club level, luxury suites, expanded concourses, new seats and additional restrooms and concession areas.

Opened in 2007, the Bayfront Convention Center at Bayfront Landing is Northwestern Pennsylvania’s largest banquet venue, hosting as many as 2,000 guests. Located on Presque Isle Bay, the venue offers breathtaking views of Erie’s magnificent waterfront. The Convention Center provides world-class amenities and is the perfect location for meetings, conferences, events, trade shows and weddings. The Convention Center is connected to the Sheraton Hotel and the Courtyard by Marriott which gives direct access to nearly 400 hotel rooms.

Like other downtowns in cities similar to Erie, Erie's downtown had suffered tremendously from the onset of the shopping mall phenomenon in the 1970s and 1980s.  One obvious element to the revitalization of Erie's downtown was to link the downtown to Presque Isle Bay through commercial development.  Unlike most downtowns, Erie had a tremendous natural resource at its northern perimeter which could serve as a catalyst for development and growth.

However, Erie's Bayfront in the 1980s reflected its industrial past rather than a 21st century future.  It was dominated by a coal fired electric power plant, an ancient shingle factory, railroad yards, and rusted out hulks of long closed industries. 

The cost of cleaning up and reclaiming the Bayfront was enormous, and made purely private development prohibitively expensive.  Direct government intervention was necessary if the Bayfront were ever to achieve its potential. 

Steps were taken to accomplish this vision.  The Erie Western Pennsylvania Port Authority began to acquire and clean up Bayfront properties.  The Commonwealth built the Bayfront Parkway, providing vehicular access along the entire length of the Bayfront.  The Commonwealth reclaimed the power plant and converted it into the Bayfront Maritime Museum, housing the Brig Niagara.  The County of Erie moved the public library to the Bayfront and integrated it with the Maritime Museum.  The Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority built an Intermodal Center adjacent to the Museum-Library complex. 

A feasibility study was undertaken in 1999 to explore the possibility of building a convention center on the Bayfront.  The report concluded that the Bayfront provided a unique location for a convention center and would create an excellent opportunity to revitalize downtown Erie and the Bayfront, to redevelop former industrial sites, to create off-season visitor activity and to attract new events, new spending and new investment to Northwest Pennsylvania.  The report emphasized the need for a first-rate full-service hotel with a sufficient number of rooms to service activities at the convention center.  The report further recognized that funding to build the convention center was not available from local sources, and recommended seeking a "Redevelopment Assistance Capital Project" or "RACP" grant from the Commonwealth to fund the building of the convention center. 

In accordance with the recommendations of the report, the Authority was created in 2000 under the Third-Class County Convention Center Authority Act pursuant to the enactment of City and County Ordinances

In 2001, the Commonwealth approved a $32 million RACP grant for the convention center project.

The Authority and a local hotel developer then negotiated a development agreement whereby the Authority would build a convention center and the developer would build a privately owned and operated hotel.  The development agreement ultimately failed when the private developer withdrew from the project.  One of the primary reasons for that failure was the developer’s reduction in the number of rooms in the hotel to a level that would have been woefully insufficient to support the convention center.

In 2003, the Authority redoubled its efforts to find a private hotel developer which would build a host hotel that was of a size and quality necessary to make the convention center a success.  Notwithstanding a good faith effort to privatize the hotel component for the convention center, an RFP process did not yield any interested private hotel developers who were willing to build a hotel of a size and quality necessary for the success of the convention center.  It became evident that it was not good public policy to wait for something that was not going to happen and jeopardize the Bayfront development that would easily approach $100 million.  Given the lack of response to the Authority's efforts to find a private hotel developer, the Authority's consultants recommended that the Authority build and own the hotel itself.  After much public deliberation, the Authority decided to build its own hotel.  The Authority proceeded to secure a $48 million bond issue to build the hotel.  That bond issue served as a necessary match to the $44 million State RACP Grant (increased from the previously approved amount of $32 million).  A new waterfront site was selected and the Erie Sheraton Bayfront Hotel opened in 2008,shortly after the Bayfront Convention Center was completed.

The Bayfront Convention Center and the Sheraton Bayfront Hotel proved to be hugely successful and, in fact, the hotel was ranked in the top ten Sheraton Hotels in North America.  After several years of operation, it was found that the primary constraint on maximizing the full potential of the Bayfront Convention Center was the need for more host hotel rooms.  After careful study and following the advice of consultants, the Authority determined that it was necessary to build another hotel.  A site was selected on property recently acquired and remediated by the Authority, which was a former brownfield adjacent to the Bayfront Convention Center.  The Courtyard Bayfront Hotel project was financed by $35 million in tax exempt bonds and $25 million in State RACP Grants.  The Courtyard Bayfront Hotel opened in 2016 and was immediately ranked in the top 1% of the 980 Courtyard brand hotels in North America.

It is important to emphasize that the Bayfront Convention Center, the Sheraton Bayfront Hotel, and the Courtyard Bayfront Hotel are all owned by the Authority, and the Authority is completely at risk for the financial success or failure of these three facilities.  It should likewise be noted that the County of Erie has guaranteed the Authority's bond issues.  Thus, the Bayfront Convention Center complex is entirely a public project for which the taxpayers of Erie County are ultimately at risk. 

By any financial metric, the Bayfront Convention Center, the Bayfront Sheraton Hotel and the Courtyard Bayfront Hotel have been tremendous successes, exceeding even the most optimistic of forecasts.  This financial success has enabled the Authority to undertake other projects on the Bayfront as well as to carry out major renovations of its other facilities, the Warner Theatre, Erie Insurance Arena and UPMC Ballpark.  In sum, The Authority has been responsible for over $275,000,000 of investment in Erie helping to transform our downtown and bayfront creating best-in class public event  facilities, waterfront parks and new public waterfront access.

Since 2007, the Convention Center development has been a vital catalyst behind the City of Erie’s bayfront reclamation and revitalization.  The Authority, using its own funds and $10 million in RACP funding, was able to purchase and remediate a former GAF Shingle factory on property adjacent to the Convention Center development.  The acquisition and remediation of the GAF property benefitted the community as a whole by eliminating an eyesore, eliminating pollution into Presque Isle Bay and converting twelve acres of contaminated waterfront property into developable land.  This effort created new public access with a half mile long waterfront park and opened several acres for future development.  Several new independent tax generating restaurants have opened within walking distance of the property and several multi-million-dollar development opportunities are currently being negotiated.

UPMC Park has been the crown jewel of the Erie sports scene since the SeaWolves inception in 1995. Since that time, over five-million fans have passed through the gates to enjoy high-quality professional baseball. The 6,000 seat ballpark features a Stadium Club, six 20-guest luxury suites, a 40-person super suite, picnic areas in right and left field, three primary concession stands and a Party Deck with 20-person boxes for a semi-private, outdoor experience.  The park also hosts fundraisers, charity walks, corporate functions and concerts.  

The Rebich Investments Amphitheatre is an outdoor performance venue set on the waterfront of Lake Erie. The venue hosts a free community concert series such as “8 Great Tuesdays,” where local and regional bands perform throughout July and August. With a grassy lawn seating area that can accommodate around 5,000 people, the amphitheater offers a relaxing, accessible event experience. The venue is located within the 8.5 acre Liberty Park that includes ADA accessible playground and picnic seating areas.