Located less than two miles north of Downtown Dallas, the Kalita Humphreys Theater is a unique and historically significant building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW). While he designed multiple theaters throughout his career, this is the only theater actually constructed and is referred to as a “Jewel in the Park” due to its location directly adjacent to a natural rock escarpment. The theater was once surrounded by mature groves that have since been replaced by large, unattractive parking lots and architecturally inappropriate additions and support buildings. The original escarpment, which was arguably a major inspiration in FLW’s original design, was removed to accommodate an addition to the structure that significantly altered the appearance of the theater itself. Numerous factors including lack of proper maintenance have resulted in the theater’s economic decline. Despite these setbacks, the theater and its grounds still retain much of their original character that should be preserved.

In order to recapture the essence of the “period of significance,” the landscape architect in collaboration with a multidisciplinary design team and client developed a master plan to guide the restoration, rehabilitation, and future programming for the theater and the greater park-site that it sits within. The plan recommends the restoration of the natural escarpment as well as the construction of several features that were originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, but never previously implemented.

The design showcase video was created as a concise means to convey the restoration and enhancement efforts that have been developed over a decade through coordinated master planning efforts. It is the culmination of conservation efforts rooted in the previously completed Master Plan updated to utilize digital modeling and diagrammatic animation to express highly complex master plan sequences in a compelling manner.