Courtesy Image / OJT Architects
An artist's rendering of a concert being staged at the renovated Sunken Garden Theater, which will include a timber-frame roof.
Brackenridge Park Conservancy, the City of San Antonio and Bexar County are partnering on renovations to the deteriorating site, built in 1930. Those upgrades will include a timber-frame roof, fixed stadium seating, a grass berm for additional spectators, additional bathrooms and a restoration of the site's historic waterfall features.
The reconfigured venue would be able to seat up to 7,000 people. The construction schedule depends on how quickly funding comes together.
Courtesy Image / OJT Architects
Proposed upgrades to the outdoor venue include a new entrance, pictured in this rendering.
Located in Brackenridge Park, Sunken Garden was developed as a Works Progress Administration project during the Great Depression. From the '70s through the mid-'90s, it played host to touring musical acts ranging from Judas Priest and Metallica to Bob Dylan and Cheap Trick.
While the theater still holds events, the number has dwindled over recent years.
The upgrades to the site will be financed by a combination of public and private sources, philanthropic funds, tax credit equity and venue operations, according to Brackenridge Park Conservancy officials.
The renovation would create roughly 171 full-time positions as the facility returns to regularly hosting music and other types of entertainment, according to the group. It would also create construction jobs during the renovation.
The partners in the Sunken Garden restoration plan to schedule public meetings to discuss the venue's future.
Courtesy Image / OJT Architects
After the renovations, Sunken Garden would be able to accommodate up to 7,000 audience members.
