Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex, Designed by DLR Group, Bring the Arts to Joplin, Missouri

	The 37,000 SF building includes the 435-seat Beshore Performance Hall that features a proscenium theatre and tiered seating that can be converted to a flat floor for various activities.

Following an official ribbon cutting ceremony on November 12, 2022, the doors are open to the new Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex in downtown Joplin, Missouri. DLR Group's design, created in partnership with Corner Greer Architects, delivers the community's first multifunctional visual and performing arts venue. Integral to the city's economic growth and downtown development, the center serves to educate, enlighten, entertain, and attract more people and activities to Joplin.

The new Cornell Complex drives cultural tourism as the arts hub for the four-state region, bringing together arts and cultural organizations such as Connect2Culture, George A. Spiva Center for the Arts, and more under one roof. Set within an urban green space in the downtown corridor, the stage opens onto an outdoor amphitheater to increase visibility and accessibility of the venue to residents and visitors alike.

"DLR Group's design is rooted in local culture and context and is inspired by the natural lead and zinc formations mined in Joplin in the early 1900s. The dynamic interplay of mass and void, as well as the variety of surface finishes in these formations provide an everchanging dance of light with time," says DLR Group principal Tom Gallagher, AIA.

The 37,000 SF building includes the 435-seat Beshore Performance Hall that features a proscenium theatre and tiered seating that can be converted to a flat floor for various activities; a 1,500-person amphitheater for concerts, plays, film festivals, and other performances located in the Leggett & Platt Green space; four art galleries; and community and rental spaces. A rooftop terrace serves as a beautiful backdrop for intimate performances and gatherings.