First Phase of Starlight Bowl Renewal Finished in San Diego

The first phase of a $2.1-million renovation to the San Diego Civic Light Opera Assn.’s Starlight Bowl has been completed in Balboa Park.

Designed by architect Gerald Garapich & Associates, San Diego, the more than $600,000 construction increment was done by Trepte Construction Co., San Diego.

Work performed included a face lift to the entrance of the bowl, including the box office and concession areas and the control booth, as well as the addition of new restroom facilities, according to Trepte’s Paul Muzzy.

The $1.5-million second phase of the restoration of the 50-year-old, 4,324-seat outdoor theater is scheduled to begin in September and will include a new stage, orchestra pit, dressing rooms, rehearsal space and a fly gallery that will enable scenery props to be moved both vertically and horizontally.

Engineering Alliance is the structural engineering firm for the renovation. The theater was originally built in 1935 by the Ford Motor Co. for the California-Pacific International Exposition.