{"id":413787,"date":"2026-08-22T11:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T11:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/413787\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T11:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T11:52:09","slug":"south-dallas-forest-theater-reveals-vision-as-it-prepares-to-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/413787\/","title":{"rendered":"South Dallas’ Forest Theater reveals vision as it prepares to open"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the sun set behind Interstate 45, Dallas\u2019\u00a0reimagined Forest Theater<\/a> revealed a towering, stainless-steel sculpture declaring that the new venue will be \u201cFor The Culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis art installation is more than a beautiful photo opportunity,\u201d said Jiles King, the interim executive and artistic director. \u201cIt is a love letter to South Dallas first, but also to Dallas, to Texas and to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite more than 100-degree heat, the unveiling drew dozens of attendees Thursday. The theater has been barreling toward its November opening, transforming a historic space\u00a0\u2014 once down to its studs with a thatched roof<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 into a venue with lobbies, chandeliers and the makings of a coffee shop slated to serve the area\u2019s first Starbucks drinks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been the craziest year. It\u2019s just nonstop,\u201d said Elizabeth Wattley, president and CEO of nonprofit Forest Forward, which is leading the revitalization. \u201cPeople are so excited. Me too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: Dallas\u2019 historic Forest Theater is reopening this year. Here\u2019s when<\/a><\/p>\n

While guests took photos with the new sculpture outside the building, people inside worked on a stage. The rooftop, where visitors will soon gaze at the downtown skyline, is accessible. Wattley said the building has gained running water, electricity, air conditioning, lighting and many rooms. She can point to where her office will be.<\/p>\n

Some years, Wattley said, there\u2019s been \u201cinvisible progress.\u201d This year, progress is center stage.<\/p>\n

Forest Forward acquired the site nearly a decade ago. It has fielded enthusiasm and skepticism from community members who asked about how they would be welcomed into the space, shared memories, took tours or gave feedback on\u00a0their favorite curtain colors<\/a>. On Nov. 1, the theater\u2019s iconic tower is expected to light up for the first time in more than half a century.<\/p>\n

Forest Forward is hoping to honor history at the site built by Karl Hoblitzelle in 1949, which has served as a hub for Black audiences and featured acts including Tina Turner, B.B. King, Prince and Dallas’ own Erykah Badu. It will also welcome kids from a once-struggling nearby school, which has now been transformed into a sought-after arts academy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Garnering public and private funding<\/a>, Forest Forward has about $73 million raised for the project. Wattley is hoping to finish out the year with $10 million more, which includes support for the venue\u2019s operations. <\/p>\n

Wattley said the nonprofit\u2019s impact will go beyond the theater<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Related: Vacant lots in southern Dallas could help ease region\u2019s housing crisis<\/a><\/p>\n

Around Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where the venue sits, several efforts have been underway to bring new housing<\/a>, restaurant space and walkable areas. Forest Forward aims to improve quality of life in an area that has faced historic disinvestment and harmful policy choices.<\/p>\n

King, the interim director<\/a>, said he has spent much of his career \u201camplifying artists of color\u2019s voices\u201d on stages across North Texas and nationally. Now, he\u2019s planning shows and educational programming for a range of people from young children to seniors.<\/p>\n

The theater is expected to host performances and visual art. It will have a 1,000-seat concert hall, an immersive art studio and a podcast studio. King put out a call for artists that received more than 200 responses. A little more than 100 will be included in the first season, King said. He\u2019s focusing on including local talent while also bringing in national acts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe calendar is the key because that\u2019s how we sell tickets, but that\u2019s also how we really impact the community because this place should be swinging,\u201d King said. \u201cThe doors should be open. The doors should be moving people in and out, because it\u2019s built for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Creating a community space, King said, has been at the center of the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cArtists help shape the identity of our communities through their creativity, vision, and dedication,\u201d King said at the sculpture unveiling. \u201cThey transform public spaces into places of connection, reflection and inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside the venue Thursday night, people gathered in its new plaza and took in the sculpture.\u00a0At about 17 feet tall, it was designed by Jessica Bell, an artist with work across the country, who said she lives just a few minutes away and used historical photos as inspiration.<\/p>\n

Visitors sipped lemonade from Sweet & Chill,<\/a> a shop that opened just blocks away about a year ago. They listened to a performance from singer Erika Nicole, a graduate of Dallas\u2019 Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.<\/p>\n

Shanay Wise, a local caterer<\/a> who said she has been involved with the theater, was first to write her answer on a wall asking guests to share what the phrase \u201cfor the culture\u201d meant to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people like to come to South Dallas and make a lot of promises, get the neighborhood excited,\u201d Wise said. \u201cWhen things don\u2019t go the way that they think that they should go, then all of a sudden, they pull out. And then, we\u2019re left with just a whole bunch of dreams and wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wrote that being for the culture is \u201ca promise kept.\u201d<\/p>\n

This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the sun set behind Interstate 45, Dallas\u2019\u00a0reimagined Forest Theater revealed a towering, stainless-steel sculpture declaring that the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[826,102,104,103,2419,93339,100434,93542,88575,95705,87998,89018],"class_list":["post-413787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-arts-entertainment","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-history","tag-tp-future-of-north-texas","tag-tp-future-of-north-texas-infrastructure","tag-tp-performing-arts","tag-tp-south-dallas","tag-tp-southern-dallas","tag-tp-dallas","tag-tp-visual-arts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}