George M. Modlin Center for the Arts
Project Start : January 1994
Dedication: October 4, 1996
Architects: Marcellus, Wright, Cox and Smith (Edward A. Smith)
Theatre Consultants: Theatre Projects, Inc.
Acousticians: Jaffe, Holden, Scarborough
Contractor: Kjellstrom and Lee until June 1994, Whiting-Turner Contracting Company for the remainder of construction
Size: 164,000 total square footage
50,708 Booker Hall
43,552 Visual Arts Building (formerly part of Keller Hall)
70,740 Modlin Center (1996 construction)
In 1992 the University began working on a plan for an expanded arts center to improve the performance, rehearsal and exhibition venues, classrooms and studios for the visual and performing arts and to provide room for continued growth. The plan was for the new building to connect to the existing Modlin Fine Arts building with an archway above Keller Road similar to the archway in North Court. The existing Emily Gardner Room and the Keller Gymnasium would be a converted for use by the art and art history department and the area occupied by Crenshaw pool would become part of a new theater complex that would house a new theatre and dance venue and related shop space. Camp Theater would become a concert hall.
In January of 1994 demolition work began in the Keller Hall gymnasium and pool areas. In June, Kjellstron and Lee asked to be released from the contract because the firm could not guarantee a maximum price acceptable to the University. Whiting-Turner was then hired to finish the project. The Board of Trustees had approved a budget of $22 million for the entire project including furnishings and technology.
Booker Hall renovations were complete and the building was ready for occupancy by the fall of 1995. A new studio theatre, the Cousins Studio replaced the Q-Hut as a place to hold theatre classes and stage productions. Kathleen Panoff, the new Executive Director of the Modlin Center for the Arts joined the University in November 1995.
When the project was completed, the former single-building complex was transformed into 165,000 square feet of state-of-the-art performance venues, galleries, studios and classrooms for the arts. The new Modlin Center for the Arts became home to the departments of art and art history, music, theatre and dance, the new Parsons Music Library as well as the Modlin Center administrative offices —all under one roof.
On October 2, 1996 a crowd of people gathered outside the Modlin Center for the Arts for the dedication of Bravo the new outdoor sculpture by John Raimondi donated by Ed and Nancy Eskandariam. Harry Z. Rand curator of the National Museum of American Art spoke at the ceremony saying the “Bravo will signal the keen anticipation for what they [the audience] will see.” The bronze sculpture is about 28 feet tall and weighs about 5 tons according to a quote by Raimondi in a September 1996 article in the Collegian. Raimondi and his work crew came to campus to weld the sculpture together on site. It depicts a dancer, an opera singer, and a conductor. “I love the magic of them jumping out of the ground,” said Raimondi. Details of the sculpture include musical notes and Greek masks of comedy and tragedy placed on the figures.
Prior to the actual opening, Kathy Panoff and the Modlin Center staff staged a Mock Gala involving students and parents who were on campus for Parent’s Week-end. They used the opportunity to practice moving people around the venue, testing handicapped access, and a rehearsal for ushers. It also served to get students involved and gave them a behind the scenes view of operations.
As part of the opening festivities the University named several individuals to receive Alumni Achievement Award in the arts. Among those honored were Lindsey Peters Christiansen, chair of the voice department at the Westminster Choir College at Princeton University; Theresa Pollak who founded the arts program at Westhampton College in the 1920s; Bruce Miller and Philip Whiteway co-founders of Theater IV; Hansford Rowe professional actor; Karen Rosell chairwoman of the art department a Juniata College; and Kristen Buchs, dancer with the Manhattan Tap Dance Company.
In addition, public performances by The Flying Karamozov Brothers, Currents, The Manhattan Tap Ensemble, the Shanghai Quartet, the Tallis Scholars and many others were featured. A special celebration was held for University community members and benefactors. It featured performances by the Manhattan Tap Ensemble and world renowned mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.
"Into the Woods" a Stephen Sondheim musical was the first University Players show presented in the new arts center, taking full advantage of the new Alice Jepson Theater. New gallery space hosted three inaugural exhibits: Gemini G.E.I recent prints and sculpture for the National Gallery of Art; Form Over Function an exhibit of modern furniture; and Seeing Across Cultures: Objects from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Since it’s opening the Modlin Center for the Arts presents more than 35 world-class performing arts events as part of the Modlin Great Performances Series, five main-stage productions presented by the University Players and Dancers and another 22 music performances as part of the Department of Music’s annual free concert series. Located throughout the campus, University Museums presents more than 20 exhibitions of national and international art and artifacts as well as student work.
All of the events presented at the Modlin Center feature an academic component designed specifically for Richmond students. These activities, all of which are free and open to the public, include master classes, lecture demonstrations as well as pre-concert and pre-exhibition lectures.
Lewis Thomas Booker, for whom the Booker Hall of Music is named, is a University of Richmond graduate who currently serves on the Board of Trustees as trustee emeritus. Mr. Booker has served the University as Rector, vice-Rector, and chair of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees. The Lewis T. Booker Professorship in Religion and Ethics was established in his honor. His mother Leslie Sessoms Booker, an alumna herself, directed the Westhampton College Alumni Association for many years. In Claire Rosenbaum’s book, A Gem of a College, she tells us that Mrs. Booker served as Alumni Secretary from 1943 until 1968 retiring after 25 years of service. “Among her many duties were fund raising, working on the alumni bulletin, planning homecomings and reunions and keeping up to date files on all alumnae. The Leslie Sessoms Booker Award was subsequently established by the alumnae in her honor, and is given at the Senior Dinner to the senior who best typifies the spirit of Westhampton College.” His father Russell was also a Richmond College graduate. The Booker family also established the Russell E. and Leslie Sessoms Booker Scholarhip fund.
Sources:
UR website
University Facilities
VBHS building file
Collegian 1937 – 1996
Rosenbaum, Claire Millhiser. A Gem of a College: The History of Westhampton College, 1914-1989