LONGVIEW, Texas — Arts!Longview will celebrate the reopening of the historic Longview Community Center with an opening night performance of a play, "Crimes of the Heart" by Theatre Longview.
Arts!Longview will host a come-and-go reception with complimentary refreshments from 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. on Thursday at the Longview Community Center, 500 E. Whaley St.
“We are so proud to play a role in bringing live performances back to the Longview Community Center,” Christina Cavazos, Arts!Longview executive director, said. “This historic building is a true gem in our community. Many people have treasured memories of theater performances, concerts, receptions, showers, birthday parties and so much more in this building. We are excited to welcome the public back to the Longview Community Center on March 10.”
The Longview Community Center opened in 1940 and has been a recorded Texas Historical Landmark since 1994. To reopen the community center again, it was a collaborative partnership between Gregg County and Arts!Longview.
Part of the agreement was for Arts!Longview to take over management of the community center in late 2021.
Gregg county has provided improvements such as repainting the lobby, parlor, dressing rooms, and several other areas of the building in preparation for the reopening.
“We are incredibly grateful for this partnership with Gregg County. This partnership is great for Arts!Longview and our founding arts organizations but also for the county as a whole as we work to make the Longview Community Center available to the general public for rentals at reasonable rates,” Cavazos said. “We are excited to bring renewed life and energy to this building and believe it goes a long way toward furthering our mission to spark a love for the arts, history and culture in our community.”
The first event at the Longview Community Center will be Theatre Longview’s performance of “Crimes of the Heart,” which will be performed from March 10-13.
Tickets are available in advance through Theatre Longview and will be available prior to performances at the Longview Community Center’s box office.
