CENTER FOR PUPPETRY ARTS

The Center for Puppetry Arts was founded by Vincent Anthony in 1978.  It is the largest American organization solely dedicated to the art of Puppet Theater. Since its inception, the Center has worked to serve the diverse populations of Atlanta, the state of Georgia, and the country-at-large and reaches the community through its focus on core programming: performance, museum and education. The Center’s collection includes more than 2,000 puppets and 1,000 posters of historical and cultural significance from around the world. The building is located at the corner of 18th Street and Spring Street in Midtown Atlanta. It occupies a total of 64,500 SF with 52,200 SF in what was a three-story school building built in 1918, a 9,500 SF single-story storage building and a 2,800 SF single-story shop building.

Heery served as the owner’s representative for the 18,430 SF new addition and renovation to the Center for Puppetry Arts including construction program management. Infrastructure improvements included various renovations and code compliant upgrades within the Center’s existing facility envelope that included door and hardware repairs/replacements, restroom improvements, retrofits and upgrades to the ticketing lobby/office and main atrium, a complete re-roof of the building and other miscellaneous and necessary restorations. The outdated security and fire alarm systems were also updated. Additional improvements included an upgraded food service/dining area for school groups, after hours, and special patron events, a new gift shop, and outdoor playground and green space.

The renovation will allow the organization to continue to touch even more lives through the art of puppetry while giving guests a new appreciation for the global scope and universal power of the art form. As part of the project, the Center is protecting and preserving hundreds of international and Henson treasures for future generations to explore and understand.

The project involved a new state-of-the-art, 8,000 SF museum to exhibit the Center’s collection that included several support spaces consisting of administrative offices, archive and non-archival storage, and restrooms. A second addition was built exclusively as the Center’s new gift shop. The construction of the new “Worlds of Puppetry” museum addition features two distinct galleries: the global collection gallery, highlighting the history of puppetry in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas and the Jim Henson gallery, housing the world’s most comprehensive collection of Jim Henson’s puppets and artifacts. In fact, in 2007 Jim Henson’s family donated more than 500 puppets and artifacts to the center.