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Minnehaha Dedicates Chapel/Fine Arts Center
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (June 21, 2003) - Minnehaha Academy of Minneapolis recently
celebrated the dedication of its new chapel/fine arts center with more than
500 students, alumni, faculty, staff, family and friends attending the
landmark moment in Minnehaha history.
The facility is without precedent in Minnehaha history, both in scope and
aesthetics. It represents the first time the academy has built a facility
exclusively for worship, music and fine arts. The building honors the
memories of Minnehahans Robert L. Williams and Orville C. Hognander (class
of 1931). The structure is named for Williams and the chapel/auditorium
facility is named for Hognander.
The 600-seat chapel/auditorium provides both space that can accommodate the
entire Upper School community for worship and a premier performance venue
for theater productions, as well as Minnehaha's eight musical
organizations.
The facility features theatre seating, a proscenium stage, orchestra pit
and state-of-the-art lights and sound systems. The stage is designed to
accommodate black box experimental theatre in addition to proscenium
productions. Lighting features the same equipment as is used in the Guthrie
Theater. The auditorium is sound-balanced for instruments and voice. During
concert performances, a customized wound shell eliminates the need for
electronic amplification. The user-friendly audio system can handle the
varied demands of drama and music performances, as well as spoken-word
presentations. Other amenities include spacious dressing rooms, a green
room and a large area for prop and set construction. Movable backdrops,
arts and furnishings transform the performance venue into a chapel for the
school's weekly worship services.
The building serves as the new home for the academy's art department,
offering expanded facilities for various media including painting, pottery,
sculpture, photography and filmmaking. The foyer of the chapel/auditorium
was designed as a gallery for both student and works from the school's
permanent collection.
The Commons, located under the clock tower, provides a formal entry to the
school, a place to welcome visitors and hold special events, a showcase for
Minnehaha history and serves as a gathering place for students. The clock
tower creates a strong main entrance - an architectural focus the school
previously lacked - and an enclosed walkway connects all the new and
existing facilities.
Two years of construction, resulting in two major buildings, has
transformed the academy's Upper School campus. Work on the
38,000-square-foot athletic center was completed in March 2002 and the
facility was dedicated April 7, 2002. Construction on the new center began
in March 2002 and was completed in March this year. They are the first
major building projects at the school's north campus since 1976-77.
Construction costs for the two buildings totaled $13.8 million, with $9
million raised through the Promise for the Future campaign, the most
ambitious fund-raising effort in Minnehaha's 90-year history.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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