The Amphitheater is the spiritual center of the Institution renowned as a contemplative haven for the exchange of ideas, pursuit of moral high ground and concern for common good. Chautauqua is a Disneyland for the high-minded, a theme park for introspection. Its leafy lakeside grounds draw summer residents from around the world. With serenity-inducing streets lined with Victorian cottages, the Institution is a picture-book retreat where Ozzie and Harriet might have summered, had they been blessed with intellectual curiosity.
So it’s startling that the latest frontal assault on a structural icon occurs not in some Sun Belt burg or suburban expanse. Locked in the demolition crosshairs is the circa-1893 Chautauqua Amphitheater. Plans have been made and needed funds nearly raised to demolish the quaintly iconic structure where President Franklin Roosevelt spoke and Marian Anderson sang. In its place would come an amenities-laden “replica.”
I spent a very pleasant week at the Institute back in the 1980's when I served as chaplain of their Episcopal House.