Interactive Theatre: Renovation of the Abandoned Loew’s Canal Theatre

This project proposes the renovation of the long-abandoned Loew’s Canal Theatre in New York City. While its exterior is sealed by plain, unarticulated façades, the richly decorated interior reveals a theatrical device that once drew audiences into a fictional world. The design prioritizes the preservation of these ornamental elements while reimagining the theatre as an open, public space.

Four façades and the ceiling, once closed off, are opened outward to the city. The main façade facing the boulevard mirrors the theatre’s interior ornamentation, replicating the same decorative language outward and reconstructing it in GFRC panels. At the same time, the seating's inclined slope is translated into diagonal glazed openings that visually and physically draw the public inside. The stage becomes a dynamic, operable boundary that can open directly toward the city, extending performance into the urban realm.

Secondary façades, previously narrow and closed, are reconfigured as sites of production and festivity, incorporating green screens, ramps, and parade installations that support both public events and creative uses, such as filming. The ceiling combines historic ornamentation with a steel frame lifted by castellated beams and tensile cables, allowing daylight to filter through the decorative patterns.

Formerly ornamental devices—false windows, false doors—are reinterpreted as functional architectural elements, enabling new kinds of performances and events. In this way, even after the “final curtain,” the theatre remains alive as a stage for the city, continuously reinventing its role as an interactive theatrical apparatus.