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MURRAY — Many Utahns fondly remember the Murray 49th Street Galleria. Throughout 2014, the building was renovated and turned into a charter school, and the bowling alley area will now be transformed into a new state-of-the-art performing arts center.
Over the course of its 30-year lifetime, the building at 4998 S. Galleria Drive was home to the 49th Street Galleria; the Utah Fun Dome, which housed a go-kart track and bowling alley; a pet hospital; Salt Lake Valley College; and the Grand Buffet.
The iconic glass towers of the 49th Street Galleria were ceremoniously demolished March 13, 2014, and the building became a K-12 charter school, the American International School of Utah. The school created the bowling alley into a 1,300-seat performing arts center that could serve a dual purpose for several organizations, according to an American International School of Utah news release.
The charter school will use the center during the week and for special weekend events, while a local church will use the center on Sundays, the news release said.
"It's a win-win situation," AISU performing arts director Erica Glenn said in a news release. "...The local church gets a brand new space large enough to house its rapidly growing congregation, and AISU gets the kind of performing arts center that most high schools only dream of.”
A grand opening and benefit concert for the performing arts center will feature Broadway legend Ivan Rutherford. Rutherford is best known for his hundreds of Broadway performances as Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables.” Rutherford, a friend of Glenn’s, heard about the opening of the center and volunteered to perform, Glenn said.
“He said, ‘You know, I’ve got this one-man show that I take all over the place, and I’ve been recently in China and all of these areas in Asia. Would you like me to come to you?’ ” Glenn said. “And we said, ‘Sure.’ So he’s coming to us, and we are very excited. We place a lot of emphasis here on giving our kids professional-level experiences to perform alongside people who have been in the industry forever.”
The benefit concert will also feature the Salt Lake Pops, local singer Jessie Clark Funk and the choirs, bands and orchestras of AISU, the news release said. The concert will be held March 27 at 7 p.m. at the new performing arts center. The money will go to the AISU performing arts department.
Tickets may be purchased at the front office of the American International School of Utah at 4998 S. 360 West or online.
