Stevens Center (UNCSA / former Carolina Theatre)

The Carolina Theatre opened in 1929 as a vaudeville and motion picture house. By 1980, the Winston-Salem Journal donated it to the School of the Arts. What followed was a $9.6 million state bond renovation that transformed a movie house into a full-scale performing arts center, reopened on April 22, 1983, with Leonard Bernstein conducting, Isaac Stern as soloist, and Gregory Peck at the podium as master of ceremonies. Agnes de Mille, Governor James Hunt, and President and Mrs. Gerald Ford were in the room. Winston-Salem has always understood that culture and economy are the same conversation — this city built itself around tobacco and textiles, then rebuilt itself around institutions, and the Stevens Center sits at that second chapter's center.

Named for theatre producer and real estate magnate Roger L. Stevens, the building at 405 West Fourth Street seats 1,380 across two levels and runs to ten stories. It is occupied for rehearsal or performance all but 70 days of the year. The Winston-Salem Symphony, Piedmont Opera, and the International Black Theatre Festival all call it home. For UNCSA, it is the primary learning laboratory — the place where students trained to professional level work on a professional stage.

The road wasn't always smooth. The federal Economic Development Administration once demanded repayment of $3.12 million over a title transfer. Forsyth County came after the building over taxes. A Broadway preview deal signed in 1990 eventually fell apart when the school was losing money on it. The building absorbed all of it and kept going.

It closed for renovation in late 2023 — its first comprehensive overhaul in more than 40 years. Phase 2 begins in February 2027, with a reopening projected for 2029. The neoclassical building is approaching its centennial. The renovation is building toward the next one.