The Story of Lincoln Park
Once an industrial giant, the community of Midland was decimated by the closure of its massive steel mill in the 1980’s. With that, the population dwindled, local businesses were shuttered, and thousands of residents were forced to seek employment elsewhere. A sharp decline of student enrollment brought an end to the history and heritage of Midland’s hallowed Lincoln High School and led to the relocation of 50 remaining students who were bussed to other districts including one high school across the border in Ohio. When Act 22, Pennsylvania’s landmark law allowing for the establishment of charter and cyber charter schools was enacted in 1999, local visionaries forged a pathway for Midland’s children to return home. With them came new students from across the Commonwealth looking for a non-traditional education alternative. In its very first year, the Midland-based Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School enrolled 500 Pennsylvania students. Today, the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, as it is now known, educates over 11,000 pupils in grades Kindergarten through 12.
Even with that success, there was still a desire to have a brick-and-mortar high school option in Midland. Seeing the growing popularity for arts-based programming across the country, dedicated community leaders designed and constructed a world-class performing arts center that would host a high school offering an arts-infused yet academically rigorous education for students from across the region. Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center and Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School opened to rave reviews in 2006 and a renaissance was born.
Research studies conducted on a global level have continually proven the benefits of arts education for all grade levels and ages. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, students who study art are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement. Americans for the Arts collected data that showed students who took four years of arts and music classes while in high school scored an average of 92 points higher on their SATs than students who took only one-half year or less. The rewards reach far beyond those of individual students. The entire community benefits from investing in the arts. The industry provides cultural and economic opportunities by creating jobs, generating tax revenues, stimulating the local economy through tourism, serving as a vehicle for community partnerships, providing locals access to enriching events and programs, and creating a sense of cultural identity. For all these reasons combined, a performing arts center was the perfect addition to the revitalization strategy of Midland, Pennsylvania.
Today, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center is the top tourist destination in Beaver County. We pursue and achieve excellence by embodying the integration of arts education and performance, creating an environment where people from diverse backgrounds come to realize their potential through the transforming influence of the arts. We create the Lincoln Park experience by producing world-class offerings that attract nearly 40,000 people from the tri-state area to our performances every year. Annually, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center averages nearly 100 events ranging from large-scale Broadway-style musicals to concerts, lectures, and exhibits.
Lincoln Park is committed to foraging partnerships with local, regional, national, and international organizations and individuals within the arts community. For example, the sets and scenic elements that enchant you on our stages can be seen all over the United States. Lincoln Park is home to a robust scenic and carpentry shop that creates world-class sets; many of which, along with props and costumes, are available as rentals to other theater companies thus creating another revenue stream to fortify our organization.
Lincoln Park’s impact is not just felt in its theaters but also in both traditional and on-line classrooms. Through ArtsAlive and ArtsAnywhere, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center provides curriculum to PA Cyber students from every corner of the Commonwealth and its talented in-house staff of Resident Artists serve as expert faculty adjuncts at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School.
ArtReach is a partnership program between Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center and PA Cyber that provides meaningful extracurricular instruction to students in grades K-12 in visual arts, graphic arts, music, theater, dance, and more. This state-wide program aims to enrich students’ creative knowledge and skills while providing them with an opportunity to socialize and express themselves. Since its inception in 2006, ArtReach has grown to serve over 9,000 students and offers over 400 courses.
Since 2010, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center has been a member of the City Music Network, a Berklee College of Music-based music and performance arts consortium that consists of over 40 community organizations across the United States and Canada committed to delivering high-quality music instruction to youth. These organizations have access to Berklee scholarships, programs, resources, and support. Over the last 13 years, the partnership between Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center and City Music Network has awarded more than 40 scholarships to young musicians valued at nearly $1.5 million.
The Henry Mancini Awards, produced by Lincoln Park since 2014, are a celebration of outstanding student achievement in high school musical theatre in Beaver, Butler, Lawrence, and Mercer counties. These awards recognize individual artistry and honor the dedication and professionalism of students, educators, and their schools’ commitment to performing arts education. Under the sponsorship of the Pittsburgh CLO, the Mancini Awards are part of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (The Jimmy Awards). The Mancini winners for Best Actor and Best Actress join winners from across the nation in New York City for a nine-day experience concluding with a production on stage at Broadway’s Minskoff Theater, home of Disney’s The Lion King, with a panel of industry experts selecting exceptional students for The Jimmy for Best Performance by an Actress and Actor.
Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center firmly embraces its mission to make arts, culture, and education available, accessible, and affordable for everyone. By attaining high standards in all that we do, we attract broad-based participation and support, enjoying long-term financial stability, and making Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center and the community of Midland a destination.