It’s far more than a wealthy philanthropist lady’s sitting rooms, but the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center which recently opened at Gonzaga University, does have such quarters. Dedicated to the Washington philanthropist, whose generosity made the arts center possible, an exhibit at the recently opened center includes recreated sitting rooms from Myrtle Woldson’s house, replete with furniture.
But it’s really a side-note to the many features of the 52,000-sf arts center, which recently celebrated its grand opening. The building is both functional and necessary to fulfill the needs of faculty and staff of the university. It includes a 750-seat theater and was designed by Pfeiffer. The building was named for businesswoman and Spokane resident Myrtle Woldson.
See Also: ASU Health Futures Center combines a novel design and approach to learning
As is the case sometimes these days with newly built structures on university campuses, the new arts center is intended not just to meet the growing needs of the music, dance and theater departments and the rest of the campus community, but as a spot for collaboration across disciplines. It also is meant as a foundation block of a planned Arts Village, which will include the Jundt Art Center and Museum.
The newly completed building is accessible through a central lobby that could be called dramatic, given the views of Lake Arthur available from it. The structure has two primary performance spaces: the Fr. Bernard j. Coughlin, S.J. Theater, a 750-seat multipurpose theater with adjustable acoustics; and the Martin and Edwidge Woldson Recital Hall, a rehearsal and recital space which seats 170. The building also includes a multidisciplinary design studio.
Adjacent to the theater is the Woldson Wing, a recreation of the sitting rooms from Myrtle Woldson’s house, that includes her personal furnishings. The exhibit’s series of spaces are meant to educate, but also as a tribute to the donor and her commitment to the arts.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Team Tames Impossible Site
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation's oldest technology university, has long prided itself on its state-of-the-art design and engineering curriculum. Several years ago, to call attention to its equally estimable media and performing arts programs, RPI commissioned British architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw to design the Curtis R.
| Aug 11, 2010
Setting the Green Standard For Community Colleges
“Ohlone College Newark Campus Is the Greenest College in the World!” That bold statement was the official tagline of the festivities surrounding the August 2008 grand opening of Ohlone College's LEED Platinum Newark (Calif.) Center for Health Sciences and Technology. The 130,000-sf, $58 million community college facility stacks up against some of the greenest college buildings in th...
| Aug 11, 2010
University of Arizona College of Medicine
The hope was that a complete restoration and modernization would bring life back to three neoclassic beauties that formerly served as Phoenix Union High School—but time had not treated them kindly. Built in 1911, one year before Arizona became the country's 48th state, the historic high school buildings endured nearly a century of wear and tear and suffered major water damage and years of...
| Aug 11, 2010
Cronkite Communication School Speaks to Phoenix Redevelopment
The city of Phoenix has sprawling suburbs, but its outward expansion caused the downtown core to stagnate—a problem not uncommon to other major metropolitan areas. Reviving the city became a hotbed issue for Mayor Phil Gordon, who envisioned a vibrant downtown that offered opportunities for living, working, learning, and playing.
