The renovated Highmark Mann has reopened and the vibe is national-park chic. A 195 foot-long digital wall is its new star.

Press

Published June 16, 2026, by Peter Dobrin of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Greener and roomier with a chic naturalistic look, the Highmark Mann Center officially reopened Monday after the final phase of a yearslong renovation.

Construction at Philadelphia’s outdoor arts center in Fairmount Park went not just down to the wire, but a few weeks beyond it, delayed by this past winter’s stretch of snow, ice and subfreezing temperatures. In early June, dance fans arriving for BalletX performances found the main entrance and other parts of the campus still under construction.

But on Monday, amid speeches and the cutting of a long golden ribbon, the Highmark Mann emerged polished and substantially changed from its appearance after closing for the season last October.

Stevie Wonder said it best, said Highmark Mann president and CEO Catherine M. Cahill to a crowd of dignitaries gathered at the center’s entrance Monday.

“Music is a world within itself with a language we all understand,” she said, quoting the lyrics to Wonder’s “Sir Duke” from 1976, the year the center opened. “Music offers a release from the ordinary, and today we celebrate exactly that. This new space was designed to transport us from our everyday lives into a magical, musical, immersive experience that begins with the moment you arrive.”

Monday’s relaunch came 50 years and one day after the center’s opening concert.

The Highmark Mann has raised $68.6 million toward its $70 million goal in this campaign — a sum going toward operations, endowment and cash reserves, artistic and 50th anniversary projects, as well as paying for the last several years of construction projects.

The renovations unveiled Monday, designed by architecture firm EwingCole, include a redesigned plaza three times the size of the previous one, and a substantial new gateway entrance structure.

A “Hollywood”-style “Highmark Mann” sign now stands planted in the lawn, ready to serve as backdrop for selfies. A new sound system promises a truer musical experience tailored to each performance.

“If there’s a country artist, you’re going to want a slightly different response than if you are hearing R&B or classical,” said Highmark Mann vice president and general manager Evan Rogers.

Promising young plantings and a new welcome center and other structures faced in wood and stone might echo the surrounding park — Cahill calls the aesthetic a “timeless national park look” — but the centerpiece of the renovation is more like something out of Times Square.