Raymond F. Kravis Center For The Performing Arts
Nothing But The Facts!
INITIAL GRAND OPENING: November, 1992
CURRENT FACILITY COST: $110 million
PERFORMANCE VENUES
- 2,195-seat Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. Concert Hall Square footage: 90,000 Opened: November 1992
- 300-seat Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse Square footage: 5,000 Opened: October 1994
- 1,400-capacity outdoor Michael and Andrew Gosman Amphitheatre Square footage: 2 acres Opened: March 1995
- 300-seat Helen K. Persson Hall
Square footage: 5,000 Opened: September 2003
BANQUET AND OTHER FACILITIES
The Cohen Pavilion houses the Weiner Banquet Center, Gimelstob Ballroom and Harris Pm-Function Hall, It also houses The Picower Foundation Arts Education Center and the Elmore Family Business Center for the Arts. Food service at the Center is provided by Catering by The Breakers at the Kravis Center,
THEATER RENTALS
The Kravis Center regularly provides a Palm Beach County venue for the following area arts organizations in which to showcase their work: Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Miami City Ballet, Palm Beach Opera, Palm Beach Symphony and Young Singers of the Palm Beaches.
FACTS AND FIGURES
- Approximately 550 performances take place at the Center each season. Nearly 500,000 people visit the Center each season.
- The complex and grounds occupy 10.6 acres of land with facilities square footage totaling 853,500 square-feet which includes a free standing 1,100 space parking garage,
- The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. is not City, County, or State owned. It is a private 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, with operational funding derived from earned income and contributions.
- The annual operating budget is $25 million; with earned revenue representing 80% and fundraising representing 20%.
- More than 2 million Palm Beach County Students have attended performances through our Education Department, with no fee charged for bussing.
- The Admission Waiver Program assures that no student will be denied admission to a S*T*A*R (Students & Teachers Arts Resource) Series performance due to economic need. Over 70% of students attending S*T*A*R Series performances participate in this program.
NAMESAKE
Raymond F. Kravis was a prominent geologist and philanthropist from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who wintered in Palm Beach for more than 35 years. In 1985, a consortium of his friends donated more than $7 million to name the facility for Mr. Kravis.
CONNIE MACK FIELD
The highest point in Palm Beach County, the downtown site of the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts has long been a spot where people have gathered for entertainment. For more than 60 years, the Kravis Center property was home to Connie Mack Field (formerly Wright Field), a baseball facility named after Mack, a Hall of Famer and baseball manager for over 50 years. Spring training camp for the Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Browns, Connie Mack Field saw action from some of the greatest names in baseball: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle among them. Today, a commemorative plaque on the grounds of the Kravis Center marks the spot of home plate of Connie Mack Field.
