Snapshot: MASS Design Group Transforms an Abandoned Hudson Valley Cistern Into an Underground Arts Venue

Descending into subterranean civic infrastructure for cultural events feels decidedly Old World. But MASS Design Group has brought the experience to upstate New York by transforming a decommissioned 3 million-gallon water tank into a unique performing arts space. The Poughkeepsie Cistern, completed in 1923 and buried under a hill in the city’s Northside neighborhood, is one of approximately six such containers scattered across the United States. After aboveground replacements were installed in 2017, the unreinforced concrete structure was drained in 2021 and work began to find ways to utilize its 36,500 square feet of vaulted ceilings, scalloped floors, unexpectedly exceptional acoustics, and year-round climate of 68 degrees.

After four performances in 2024, including one in November from Site-Specific Dances (pictured), the project won a National Endowment for the Arts grant and MASS is helping establish an operating entity to lease the city-owned cistern and raise approximately $6 million to improve and program it in perpetuity, to anchor future development.