Diego Rivera Theater Construction Closes in on Parking
As City College breaks ground on the long-delayed Diego Rivera Theater, the loss of more than 150 parking spaces raises new access concerns for students.
Since ground broke on the Balboa Reservoir Housing Project in November, the west side of Frida Kahlo Way has been crawling with excavators. Now, with the launch of a new semester, and the Division of the State Architect having finally approved plans for the Diego Rivera Theater on Dec. 12, City College’s Upper Reservoir student parking lot is handed over to the Rudolph and Sletten construction company to begin work on the college’s latest installment.
Construction on the 1,100-unit housing project is expected to take 20 months and had previously restricted access to the Upper Reservoir. Now that the Diego Theater construction is greenlit, the former site of over 150 parking spaces is absorbed into the footprint, and with the projected construction timeline of 32 months, questions remain over accessibility for commuter students.
During the chancellor’s report at the Academic Senate meeting on Dec. 19, Chancellor Kimberlee Messina announced plans to contract with a shuttle service to help alleviate parking strain, yet it remains unclear when a solution will be implemented.
Theater Advocates Rejoice
Despite numerous delays and holdups with the Department of the State Architect, the groundbreaking for the Diego Rivera Theater is now set for Jan. 22, giving faculty members and advocates for the Theater Arts Department’s new home a reason to celebrate.
Positioned between the Harry Britt Building and the STEAM building on Frida Kahlo Way, the three-story performing arts center will feature practice rooms, recording and broadcast facilities, a recital hall, studio theater, and a main 600-seat performance hall with balcony seating.
The main lobby will serve as the new home of Diego Rivera’s priceless 30-ton mural, “The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and of the South on This Continent”, more commonly known as “Pan American Unity.” The Ingleside Light reported that the DSA cited a review of the “support anchorage” for the building's contents as a cause of the delay.
Former faculty member and mural historian Will Maynez has pushed for conservators to conduct wellness checks on the mural while it sits stowed away on Ocean Campus. Theater Arts Department Chair Madeline Mueller has staved off retirement for years, if not decades, waiting to witness the construction of a new performing arts center.
“Having a community theater is the college’s best chance of generating revenue by offering a space to rent for concerts and shows,” Mueller said, referencing the building's constant delays amidst the backdrop of the college’s financial woes. “You can’t rent out classrooms.”
The project will cost over $150 million and will be funded primarily by the 2020 bond measure, Prop A.
