The Hemmens Cultural Center celebrated its transformation at a grand re-opening ribbon cutting celebration.

The new addition to the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin, Illinois brings new life to this important midcentury-modern civic building. Originally built in 1969 as a civic performance venue, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in the International style developed by Mies van der Rohe, the Hemmens has long been a community landmark. Yet as cultural needs and accessibility standards evolved, the building's limitations for current needs became apparent. This addition and selective renovation reinvigorates the Center. It extends the building's utility, provides new lobby, banquet, and office areas that can function independently of the main performance hall, improves circulation and access, provides improved wheelchair accessibility, and presents a strikingly modern face that invites new generations of users while respecting the midcentury roots that define its character.

The expanded lobby creates a more welcoming and identifiable entrance, improving circulation for patrons while enhancing accessibility, flow, and first impressions. Accessible restrooms on upper and lower levels together with ramps and an elevator address long-standing ADA challenges, making the space inclusive for all visitors.

The new reception area / banquet rooms on the second floor with their outdoor balconies provide vibrant social spaces and panoramic views of downtown's Civic Center Plaza, enriching the visitor experience and supporting new programming opportunities. Wood detailing and warmer tones complement the more austere original detailing.

Other interior upgrades include a walk-up box office visible from main avenues, new office support space for Hemmens personnel and city staff, and redesigned back-of-house areas (including dressing rooms, green rooms, and loading docks) that significantly improve the center's operational capabilities, keeping pace with the needs of touring professionals

The new structure reflects and complements the original building's midcentury modern vocabulary—steel, glass, clean lines, and Miesian detailing—while providing a deliberately contemporary new main entrance. Here the strategic grafting of new elements onto this older building provides powerful revitalization: Rather than erasing the past, it honors it, bringing new life to this aging structure, allowing it to serve modern purposes while preserving its historic and cultural significance. This method is also deeply sustainable: Repurposing this existing 56-year-old building avoids the carbon costs of demolition and new construction; conserves embodied energy and reduces waste. It is a form of architectural recycling that merges stewardship of the past with innovation for the future. Here the architectural grafting of new onto old provides a dialogue across time, a way of saying that what was once new can continue to serve, inspire, and adapt—without being erased.

The original Mies van der Rohe-style Hemmens building was designed by the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and completed in 1969 as part of the development of Civic Center Plaza, which includes Elgin's City Hall. Three decades later deficiencies had become apparent. Cordogan Clark worked with the Hemmens on a feasibility study and master plan exploring expansion of the Hemmens to the north. At this time, we also designed a new proscenium for the main stage to create a more dramatic and warm stage presence while housing various stage functions. Financing was tight so the project was delayed. In 2020 the expansion project was revived and preliminary schematic designs by Allen + Pepa were prepared for a north-side addition to integrating a lobby, box office, drop-off canopy, restrooms, balcony, loading dock, and offices. In July 2022, the Elgin City Council approved architectural and engineering contracts with Cordogan Clark, followed by a construction contract a year later.

The addition reinforces the Center's cultural role as a hub for the arts—hosting the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, theater groups, dance recitals, community events, and more. The expansion ensures that this civic landmark remains a vibrant, relevant anchor in Elgin's arts and community center well into the future.