The hundreds of art venues across New York’s private campuses add to the quality of life for all New Yorkers and its visitors in immeasurable ways. Where else might you see contemporary Cuban Dance or a Cameroonian jazz vocalist? Where might you ask questions of former Secretary of State Colin Powell or visit an Underground Railroad interpretive center?
Such projects elevate the intellectual and public life of its resident students and the broader community. What’s more, capital construction for the arts is blossoming, and many of the projects are by far the most ambitious ever undertaken by the Independent Sector. They are energizing, flexible spaces – often putting together performance, workshops, galleries, and classrooms under one roof, or in an “arts neighborhood.”
This flurry of building addresses the rise in numbers of students majoring in the arts and humanities. At Skidmore College alone the number of music majors has doubled over the past 25 years. It also contributes directly to regional economies. For example, analysts estimate that Adelphi University’s new $30.3 million performing arts center will add more than $62 million to the output of goods and services on Long Island alone.
Plans Made
With plans underway for its “Public Square,” Molloy College can engage hundreds of thousands of community members in rich and diverse cultural activities. The Square will host a 550-seat theater, art gallery, and TV broadcast center to allow the College to produce its regionally recognized TV show from campus. Nearby in Garden City, Adelphi University is launching its largest construction project ever – a 53,000 square-foot performing arts center that will become a cultural anchor in Nassau County. Focusing on music, dance, and theater, the new space will hold a music library and practice rooms in addition to a 500-seat multi-purpose auditorium and 200-seat dance performance space.
Hamilton College has just completed the schematic design phase of its “arts neighborhood.” Using a natural ravine that divides north and south campuses, the plans encompass three buildings – a museum, a studio arts center, and a building that houses two flexible configuration theaters. The entire arts complex is made possible by the single largest gift in the College’s history of $10 million.
Long in development, the Arthur Zankel Music Center will more than satisfy much-needed music rehearsal and practice space at Skidmore College. The new hall will nearly triple the capacity of the existing Filene Music Hall that currently holds 235. Like many art building projects on campuses statewide, the Center is the most ambitious ever undertaken at the College; the $32 million structure will be one of the first a visitor sees when driving in from the College’s main entrance.
When world-renowned designers Massimo and Lella Vignelli looked for a home for their 40 years’ of professional achievements, they chose Rochester Institute of Technology. Longtime supporters of the RIT’s School of Design, the couple plans to archive their work and establish the Vignelli Study Center in Design. Funds are currently being raised for the construction of this 20,000 square-foot facility.
Foundations Laid
Among the host of ceremonial groundbreakings this spring, The College of Saint Rose first lifted dirt on May 10 toward construction of the 46,000 square-foot Massry Center for the Arts. With its completion scheduled for next summer, the complex will bring cultural vitality to its Albany Pine Hills neighborhood and throughout the greater Capital Region. The Center, planned as a primary venue for the College’s rich musical tradition, will also rank among the area’s most energy efficient buildings – 32 percent more efficient, than an average building its size.
Similarly, Barnard College is also thinking green when it comes to construction. The new 70,000 square-foot Nexus center for student life and activity will become home for a new black box theater, library and café. The state-of-the-art facilities and event spaces will strengthen teaching and learning and facilitate even greater interaction and creative thinking by the entire community. Construction is currently scheduled for completion in September 2009.
Cornell University is planning to break ground this year on its Paul Milstein Hall – a 43,000 square foot space for “interdisciplinary collaboration.” Part lecture hall, part library, and part studio and exhibition space, the Hall provides the campus with a signature building for these collaborations.
Looking ahead, Alfred University will break ground early in 2008 on a 500-seat proscenium theater. Chock full of special features, such as a “sprung floor” (two-level, shock-absorbing floor for actors’ safety and soundproofing), a series of catwalks, and a fully equipped design studio and costume shop, the new theater forms a welcome addition to the Miller Performing Arts Center.
Missions Accomplished
The art department at Hobart and William Smith Colleges “has undergone a metamorphosis,” says Art Professor Ted Aub. Sleek, contemporary, and welcoming, the Colleges’ new Katherine D. Elliott Studio Arts Center adds 14,600 square feet of academic space for painters, photographers, printers, and wood and metal workers. Similarly, Cazenovia College’s Art Gallery gained attention when its architect won an Award of Merit from the American Institute of Architects. Grace Chiang of Ithaca designed the College’s Art Gallery to integrate respectfully within the village scale and small college environment.
With its glass-enclosed Humanities Gallery, stepped seating, and black box rehearsal studio, the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts on the Brooklyn Campus at Long Island University “is the jewel in the crown of Downtown Brooklyn’s growing cultural community,” says Provost Gale Haynes. When it comes to size, however, Hofstra University stands out. The University’s new Academic Building spans 86,000 square feet, housing a black box theater, an acoustically isolated band rehearsal hall, and an extensive music library.
Siena College’s new television and radio studios, dedicated this spring, honor New York State Broadcasters Association President Joseph A. Reilly. The Reilly Broadcasting Center offers students hands-on learning in the industry, while bringing creative and educational programming to audiences all over the Capital Region.
A Grand New Look
The inherent architectural beauty of many of New York’s oldest campuses calls for renovation and expansion rather than building new. Historic Bailey Hall at Cornell University, a prime example of classical revival architecture, is presently undergoing a thorough renovation. While modern technologies and a three-story addition will bring the theater up to today’s standards, the Hall’s colonnade portico and luxuriously painted ceiling will be revived. Its setting will also live up to its grand new look – with the addition of a pedestrian plaza to replace its deteriorating parking area.
Another campus with a combination restoration/expansion project underway is Hobart and William Smith Colleges. In addition to the new Studio Arts Center mentioned earlier, the Colleges restored the nearby Goldstein Family Carriage House. This turn-of-the-century beauty now hosts an 18-station digital photography lab, among other print-related facilities.
Niagara University’s Leary Theater, which showcases the talents of nearly 100 theater studies students and their professors, is also getting a face lift. A campaign to raise $80 million will also allow a two-story addition to be built for a new entrance and lobby. At Union College, a major renovation of the historic North Colonnade into the Taylor Music Center also invited the addition of 13 new Steinway pianos.
Some renovations are truly metamorphosing. Vassar College, for example, transformed its indoor swimming pool into an elegant 5,700 square-foot dance theater. In fact, the entire physical education hall at the College became new, fully reappointed dance studios this fall after a two-year, multimillion-dollar renovation. Canisius College in Buffalo transformed a church into a magnificent performance space with 515 seats. The former St. Vincent de Paul Church now provides ample space for a variety of functions intended for students, alumni, and the public alike.
The renovations of St. Lawrence University’s arts facilities mirror the goals of this liberal arts institution. Instead of devoting separate spaces to individual departments, the University has chosen to intermingle departments throughout one large structure. The result is more collaboration and cross-fertilizaiton across disciplines.
In another approach, Nazareth College strives to become a destination venue
for dance in western New York – made possible by a $6 million renovation
of its Nazareth College Arts Center. Presently, the likes of Garth Fagan Dance
and the Rochester City Ballet (RCB) perform at Nazareth. With the renovation,
the Nazareth College Arts Center will become the official home of the RCB-considered
one of the best regional ballet companies in the U.S.
Across town, the University of Rochester is gearing up for renovations next summer of the 85-year-old Eastman Theater – a gilded 1920s beauty. The project comes with additional rehearsal spaces, practice rooms, and recording facilities. The landmark Eastman Theater is the principal hall for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the primary venue for the University’s Eastman School of Music’s larger ensembles. Its enrichment of community life – from local theater companies to lectures and even high school graduations – will take on an even grander tone once the opulent décor of the 1920s is fully restored.