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University Auditorium (Gainesville, Florida)
Encyclopedia
The University Auditorium, originally known as the Memorial Auditorium and sometimes called the University of Florida Auditorium, is an historic building on the campus of the University of Florida
in Gainesville
, Florida
, in the United States
.
It was designed by William Augustus Edwards
in the Collegiate Gothic style and was built between 1922-1924. It was restored and expanded in 1977 by architect James McGinley. The expansion, which added a new entrance and lobbies, was designed to complement but not match the original architecture. It is a contributing property
in the University of Florida Campus Historic District
which was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on April 20, 1989.
. The striking auditorium interior is unique in its application of a 14th-century hammerbeam ceiling
to a cruciform structure. Each hammerbeam end presents one symbol of the 'land-grant quadrivium:' the Scholar wears a four-cornered cap reminiscent of a 5th-century square nimbus; the Musician strokes a Greek lyre; the Engineer lifts a notched gear; and the Athlete sports a leather football helmet. In each of the two large windows above the east and west transept balconies, six scholars depicted in early 20th-century Art Deco style overlook the audience space.
physician, philanthropist, and associate of early Florida developer Henry Flagler
. The spacious interior of the University Auditorium, with its elaborate wood-carvings and roomy galleries, offered a congenial home. Tonal plans for Florida were prepared by William Zeuch of Boston's famous Skinner Organ Company
, which built and installed the original instrument in early 1925. The organ was first played publicly on June 7th, 1925, at the annual University Commencement Convocation. A musical landmark for its day, the organ was designed and voiced at the zenith of orchestral-imitative or "symphonic" organ design in this country, and is mentioned in such reference works as Orpha Ochse's The History of the Organ in the United States and Charles Callahan's The American Classic Organ. It was heard frequently through the 1930s in recitals by Claude Murphree, University Organist, as well as in early broadcasts over the University's "new" radio station, WRUF. An elaborate organ façade was also designed by the architect, but was never built.
In the early 1960s the Æolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston began a program of mechanical renovation and tonal rehabilitation to repair damage caused by the ravages of time and neglected maintenance, and the M. P. Moller Organ Company continued the careful work of restoring the organ to its former excellence as a teaching and recital instrument. Today the Andrew Anderson Memorial Organ, with 99 ranks and nearly 5400 pipes, is one of the largest recital instruments in the United States, with a major place in the musical life of this community of scholars.
venue which seats up to 843 people. It has a concert stage, and is used for musical concerts, lectures, convocations, and pageants. Its director is Michael Blachly.
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
It was designed by William Augustus Edwards
William Augustus Edwards
William Augustus Edwards, also known as William A. Edwards, was an Atlanta-based American architect renowned for the educational buildings, courthouses and other public and private buildings that he designed in Florida, Georgia and his native South Carolina.- Early life and education :William...
in the Collegiate Gothic style and was built between 1922-1924. It was restored and expanded in 1977 by architect James McGinley. The expansion, which added a new entrance and lobbies, was designed to complement but not match the original architecture. It is a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
in the University of Florida Campus Historic District
University of Florida Campus Historic District
The University of Florida Campus Historic District is a historic district on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The district, bounded by West University Avenue, Southwest 13th Street, Stadium Road and North-South Drive, encompasses approximately and contains 11 listed...
which was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on April 20, 1989.
Interior Design
William Edward's University Chapel-Auditorium was planned in the early 1920s to be the first unit of an imposing central University administrative building with a massive bell tower. His design is clearly patterned after London's 11th-century Westminster Hall and 19th-century Central Lobby in the Houses of Parliament, and also appropriates some features seen in Proctor Hall, the 1913 graduate dining hall at Princeton University designed by Ralph Adams CramRalph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
. The striking auditorium interior is unique in its application of a 14th-century hammerbeam ceiling
Hammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof, in architecture, is the name given to an open timber roof, typical of English Gothic architecture, using short beams projecting from the wall.- Design :...
to a cruciform structure. Each hammerbeam end presents one symbol of the 'land-grant quadrivium:' the Scholar wears a four-cornered cap reminiscent of a 5th-century square nimbus; the Musician strokes a Greek lyre; the Engineer lifts a notched gear; and the Athlete sports a leather football helmet. In each of the two large windows above the east and west transept balconies, six scholars depicted in early 20th-century Art Deco style overlook the audience space.
Andrew Anderson Memorial Organ
University President Albert Murphree received $50,000 for the organ from Dr. Andrew Anderson, a St. AugustineSt. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
physician, philanthropist, and associate of early Florida developer Henry Flagler
Henry Morrison Flagler
Henry Morrison Flagler was an American tycoon, real estate promoter, railroad developer and partner of John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil. He was a key figure in the development of the eastern coast of Florida along the Atlantic Ocean and was founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway...
. The spacious interior of the University Auditorium, with its elaborate wood-carvings and roomy galleries, offered a congenial home. Tonal plans for Florida were prepared by William Zeuch of Boston's famous Skinner Organ Company
Aeolian-Skinner
Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. — Æolian-Skinner of Boston, Massachusetts was an important American builder of a large number of notable pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner , Arthur Hudson Marks ,...
, which built and installed the original instrument in early 1925. The organ was first played publicly on June 7th, 1925, at the annual University Commencement Convocation. A musical landmark for its day, the organ was designed and voiced at the zenith of orchestral-imitative or "symphonic" organ design in this country, and is mentioned in such reference works as Orpha Ochse's The History of the Organ in the United States and Charles Callahan's The American Classic Organ. It was heard frequently through the 1930s in recitals by Claude Murphree, University Organist, as well as in early broadcasts over the University's "new" radio station, WRUF. An elaborate organ façade was also designed by the architect, but was never built.
In the early 1960s the Æolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston began a program of mechanical renovation and tonal rehabilitation to repair damage caused by the ravages of time and neglected maintenance, and the M. P. Moller Organ Company continued the careful work of restoring the organ to its former excellence as a teaching and recital instrument. Today the Andrew Anderson Memorial Organ, with 99 ranks and nearly 5400 pipes, is one of the largest recital instruments in the United States, with a major place in the musical life of this community of scholars.
Current use
The University of Florida Auditorium today is a performing artsPerforming arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
venue which seats up to 843 people. It has a concert stage, and is used for musical concerts, lectures, convocations, and pageants. Its director is Michael Blachly.
See also
- University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
- Buildings at the University of FloridaBuildings at the University of FloridaThe University of Florida is a flagship university in the State University System of Florida and has many notable buildings located in Gainesville, Jacksonville, Orlando and throughout Florida. The Campus Historic District at the University of Florida comprises 32 contributing properties that are...
- Campus Historic DistrictUniversity of Florida Campus Historic DistrictThe University of Florida Campus Historic District is a historic district on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The district, bounded by West University Avenue, Southwest 13th Street, Stadium Road and North-South Drive, encompasses approximately and contains 11 listed...