La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club

BBB’s revitalization of the oldest continuously operating off-off-Broadway theater has created state-of-the-art performance spaces and amenities for a world-renowned cultural institution, while preserving the building’s cherished historic character.

After nearly 50 years, the 74 East 4th Street home of La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club needed significant improvements to support the organization's growing international profile. Beyer Blinder Belle expanded patron and performer amenities by creating a new ADA-accessible lobby, all-gender bathrooms, and expanded dressing areas at ground level. By lowering the first-floor ceiling, the second-floor performance venue, "The Club," gained higher ceilings, floating floors for acoustic isolation, and space for state-of-the-art theater equipment. Diversified events and community programs are supported by a new multipurpose studio, outdoor terrace, and staff offices on the third and fourth floors, and by new broadcast technology that can stream any event worldwide.

Historic preservation balanced the landmark building's character with contemporary safety and accessibility requirements, and exposed materials evoke the organization's history and ethos of creative freedom. The restored facade was illuminated to impart a theatricality to the building at night, heralding the renewal of a cornerstone of the city's—and the world's—theater community.

Print Project