The makeover plans for Coney Island's historic Childs Restaurant won glowing reviews from the Landmarks Preservation Commission this morning. GKV Architects will preserve and repair the stucco and terracotta facade to match the original details, while converting the building into a performance space and restaurant. Officially named the Seaside Park and Community Arts Center, the new venue will have a 5,000-seat theater with a removable roof, a public park with concessions and a playground, and a restaurant with a rooftop terrace, à la the original. New renderings show the theater entrance on the building's West 22nd Street wall, which is currently just plain brick (photo after the jump).
A rep from LPC tells us that commissioner Frederick Bland called it "a very creative, clever solution," but wished that it had "a little more gaiety, a little more fun." Commission chairman Robert B. Tierney said, "I enthusiastically support it and applaud it," and clearly the rest of the group felt the same way. They voted 9-0 in favor of the plans.
· Historic Childs Restaurant To Get Amphitheater, Park By 2015 [Curbed]
· All Childs Restaurant coverage [Curbed]