1999
Contemporary Challenges for our Communities - Collaboration & Competition
Chicago, IL
July 12-17, 1999

The 1999 conference opened in style with a cocktail reception at the elegant Chicago Theatre, as guests of CAPA. Well-known Chicago Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert gave a charming and highly enjoyable talk on "Film and Historic Theatres" as conference attendees enjoyed dinner on the Chicago's expansive stage.

James Kunstler gave this year's keynote speech which discussed Home from Nowhere: The Design and Assembly of Places Worth Living In and challenged the audience with controversial opinions.

Theatre after theatre on the tour was a delight. Who can forget the kaleidoscopic decoration of the Oriental or the remarkable Auditorium Theatre (where the League was wonderfully hosted by Jan Kallish and her staff), the hard hat tour of the Palace Theatre, the eerie beauty of the Uptown Theatre, and Symphony Hall. The preconference tour rambled outside of Chicago to tour the Rialto Square in Joliet and the Paramount in Aurora and finished up with a quaint reception sponsored by the Woodstock Opera House.

Attendance in Chicago broke all prior LHAT event records, topping out at just under 250 attendees. Over 20 educational sessions were offered for people with all levels of theatre restoration experience: emerging projects, theatres currently under restoration and restored theatres in operation. Focus areas included: restoration, programming, marketing, fund raising, operations and organization and board development.

Chicago boasted a new educational offering: a two-day preconference seminar presented by Neill Archer Roan, director of external affairs for Arena Stage in Washington, DC. "Creating a Learning Organization" was an interactive seminar which taught practical skills as well as conceptual awareness, providing participants with the tools necessary to create a productive theatre environment receptive to change.