Gathering in the Fat Atom offices on Tuesday, several employees and myself made the short trek to The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel’s City Center. After a few seconds of wondering where we were to enter, we were led to a myriad of construction trailers where we were met by Mike Anderson of Shiel Sexton. The Executive Director of the Arts Center, Steven Libman, also joined us during our brief orientation and hour long tour through the unfinished Palladium. Upon entering the scaffolding clad interior of the building, we were impressed by the attention to details and massive amounts of plaster being used. The 1,600 seat concert hall, we were guaranteed, would not have a bad seat in the house as they are using state of the art acoustical accommodations including an adjustable glass canopy system made of large shapes of glass to help direct the sound. After touring the stage, dressing areas and entry halls, we began the climb up the construction stairs to the top of the dome, stopping along the way not only to catch our breath, but to hear more fascinating facts about the building. Once at the top, we were able to touch the ceiling, take some pictures and enjoy views that few people will ever experience. After our descent down the stairs, our gracious guides continued to answer my teams questions and return us safely back to the construction trailers.

The Palladium is the first of 3 buildings planned for the Center for the Performing Arts. A 500-seat and 200-seat theater as well as an outdoor amphitheater are planned to be built in the City Center by the end of 2012. The Palladium’s grand opening is slated for January 29, 2011. Hope you can join us there!