Inside Highmark Mann Center's $70 million transformation ahead of triple anniversary celebration

Visitors at the Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts this summer will be greeted by a dramatically different experience.

Crews are putting the finishing touches on a $70 million capital project transformation of the Fairmount Park venue ahead of its official unveiling on June 15. Leaders said it's the most significant overhaul since the venue opened in 1976.

Catherine Cahill, president and CEO of Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts, gave CBS Philadelphia a hard-hat walk-through of the active construction zone as crews race against the clock to complete the project.

"There's a lot going on right now, so we are down to the wire here!" Cahill said.

The renovations come during a milestone year for both the venue and the city. 

In 2026, the Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts celebrates its 50th anniversary, the nation marks its 250th birthday, and Philadelphia commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Centennial Exposition — the 1876 World's Fair that took place throughout Fairmount Park.

The centerpiece of the project is a new 40,000-square-foot entry plaza — several times the size of the previous entrance area — designed to create a more welcoming experience for guests arriving at the venue.

"More points of sale, more tables, more chairs, a giant bar that we've never had before," Cahill said. "A place for people to come together, come for dinner, stay for the show, enjoy the beautiful outdoors."

Visitors will enter beneath newly constructed canopies inspired by the natural surroundings of Fairmount Park.

"The stone facades, the coloring — that was absolutely intentional, because here we are in Fairmount Park," Cahill said.

Past the gates, visitors will see a new welcome center and gift shop. Renderings of the completed project also show interactive exhibits designed to celebrate the venue's history, including a digital jukebox featuring music, stories and trivia about artists who have performed at the Mann over the past five decades.

The emphasis on history extends behind the scenes as well.

Backstage areas feature nods to Philadelphia's past, including Benjamin Franklin-themed wallpaper and a map highlighting the Centennial Exposition, which drew millions of visitors to Fairmount Park in 1876.

"So the history here is extraordinary — we wanted to share a little bit of that flavor with folks when they came in," Cahill said.

Venue leaders said many touring artists arrive in Philadelphia in the middle of the night, making the Mann one of their first impressions of the city.

Perhaps the most eye-catching addition is a massive digital display currently under construction on the exterior of the TD Pavilion.

Once complete, the approximately 4,600-square-foot installation will showcase art, music and historical content and is expected to be visible from as far as a mile away.

"It's going to be able to tell the story of the Centennial district, and it'll showcase art and imagery of Philadelphia," Cahill said. "It'll be something so special and unique."

The renovation project is part of the Mann's broader effort to connect its future with the history of the grounds it calls home.

That connection will be highlighted throughout the 2026 season, including the June 17 world premiere of "A Hundred Years On," a newly commissioned work commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Centennial Exposition.

"We know that 1776 was a monumental moment. A lot of attention will be downtown, at Independence Hall, on the Parkway," Cahill said. "But we wanted to make sure that the 1876 story — that the 100th birthday of our nation — was still captured."

The performance will feature The Philadelphia Orchestra, conductor Anthony Parnther and the Grammy Award-winning chamber choir The Crossing.

The grand unveiling of the transformed campus is scheduled for June 15.