Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe Is Now FringeArts

The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe is now the much more succinctly named FringeArts. Festival founder and executive director Nick Stuccio announced the new name this morning at the groundbreaking of the 16-year-old organization’s year round venue, which will also be known as FringeArts.

The 10,000 square foot FringeArts space, housed in a 1903 hydrant pumping station at Columbus Avenue and Race Street, is expected to debut in time for the 2013 FringeArts festival, scheduled for September 6th to 21st.

FringeArts will feature a 240-seat theater with 30-foot ceilings, a 125-seat restaurant/bar, a “rehearsal and creation studio,” and an outdoor plaza with live performances. Maybe there’s some hope for our waterfront after all.

Below, some photos and renderings.

The building as it looks today.

A rendering of the finished FringeArts.

A rendering of the FringeArts theater.

A rendering of the performance plaza at FringeArts.

A historical photo of the hydrant pumping station’s exterior.

A historical photo of the hydrant pumping station’s interior.

[Renderings by WRT Planning and Design]