The Kimmel’s Rooftop Garden Is No Longer Trying To Boil You Alive

A decade after the Kimmel Center opened up to mixed reviews, its leaders are getting around to making some big fixes. First on the list? Renovating the rooftop garden that offered spectacular views—as well as temperatures that could climb to alarming and uncomfortable heights, rendering the space all but unusable most of  the year. The $6 million renovation places the garden in a climate-controlled glass box; the glass can flip from clear to tinted with the flip of a switch, making users feel a little less like ants under a magnifying glass. And that should bring new business to the center: “Its hot, uncomfortable environment from May through September forced the Kimmel Center to turn away over 1000 annual rental inquiries per year,” CEO Ann Ewers said. Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron lauds the renovation as the start of a better Kimmel: “The Kimmel is following the same path taken by Lincoln Center, another flawed performing arts center, in trying to turn itself into a hip, welcoming hub, as part of a stealth effort to generate new audiences for its programs.” The air conditioning should help. [Broadway World]