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Volume 1 Issue 1
KANSAN.COM
Page 2B
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HUMANITIES BUILDING TO REACH 25 STORIES
TIM JONES
NOV.20,1967
University Archives
Plans for the "tallest building in Kansas" — a $5.8 million, 25 story humanities building- were unveiled today by University officials and designing architects.
The building, to be on the site of Robinson Gymnasium and Haworth Hall, will house 51 classrooms and 11 undergraduate study rooms in two, five story wings and provide 487 faculty offices and 28 graduate seminar rooms and 71 study rooms in the 25-story tower.
Bids for construction will be let in mid-spring 1968, said R. Keith Lawton, vice-chancellor for operations. Actual construction will begin in the late summer of 1968; the building is expected to be finished by the fall semester of 1970.
The state will provide $3.9 million and the federal government the other $1.9 million.
Construction will be in two phases. The first phase, including the east wing and tower, will begin next summer. When the Experimental Biology and Human Development Building, under construction south of Malott Hall, is completed in early 1969, Haworth Hall will be razed and the second phase of construction, the west wing will begin.
The architectural firm, Woodman and Van Doren, Wichita, and William Hale, state architect, said they were faced in designing the building, with the limitations of making the building compatible with the rest of campus, giving access from all directions, and avoiding "canyonizing" the campus by bringing buildings too close together.
The building, part of KU's master plan, is designed to bring the largest group of students, arts and sciences majors, back to the center of campus.
Lawton said because general classrooms were the easiest to make temporary, the construction of a permanent general classroom building was postponed while specialized facilities
— science laboratories, for example — were built.
The high-rise tower was designed to maintain the openness of the top of Mt. Oread. A glass-enclosed concourse and study area connecting the wings at all five levels will provide a seethrough effect between Jayhawk Boulevard and the valley to the south.
The building includes a 150-car parking area in the basement for "prime" faculty and handicapped students.
There will be six elevators serving the tower but none for the classroom wings.
Refreshment facilities, now in the basement of Strong Hall, will be moved to the building.
Woodman said the building will be constructed with poured or pre-cast concrete and will be an off-white or sand color. Windows and frames will be bronze-glazed to cut down the solar heat and increase air conditioning efficiency.
A two-duct heating and cooling system will be installed to allow year-round temperature control.
Facilities will include many
multi-media devices such as closed circuit television, video tapes and electronic language labs. Woodman said to avoid the future obsolescence of the building, room would be left to accommodate any electronic facilities the University might want to install.
The building will rise approximately 280 feet above Jayhawk Boulevard.
"At the risk of being corny, this building is the high point in the University's master plan." Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe said.
Editor's note: Due to high construction costs, the University chose not to use this design and instead went with a design for what is now Wescoe Hall.
University Archives
MANY FIGHT COLD TO OPEN SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART
MARY ANNE
OLIVAR
JAN 18, 1978
The $5 million Helen Foresman Spencer Museum of Art, which houses 25,000 works of art, was opened to the public for the first time last night.
The museum's opening coincides with the 100th anniversary of the establishment of KU's art collection and the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Thayer collection, the core of KU's art holdings.
The museum's first floor is being considered for the art library, which is now in Watson Library. The department of art history and a museum shop are on the second floor. Officers and storage rooms are on the fifth floor.
From 7:30-10:30 p.m. people streamed into the museum, braving last night's cold weather to browse through the galleries on the building's third and fourth floors.
Charles Eldredge, director of the Spencer museum, said in an opening announcement, "This is a gift from Mrs. Spencer especially for the students."
Spencer Museum was a gift from Helen Foresman Spencer, a member of the KU Class of 1926.
Spencer was not able to attend the grand opening. However, she attended an inaugural preview Sunday night, which several dignitaries and distinguished people in the arts also
attended, including the director of Harvard University's art museum, Seymour Slive.
For the first time since 1971, visitors were able to see about 2,000 seemingly forgotten art works that had been in storage.
Part of the museum's collection previously was displayed in Spooner Hall. However, Eldredge said 97 percent of the collection could not be displayed in Spooner because of a lack of space. Many of the art works were stored in a fireproof, humidity controlled area in Spencer Research Library.
Former chancellors Franklin W. Murphy, W. Clarke Wescoe, Raymond Nichols and Dean W. Malot also were at Sunday's preview.
Like the opening of an old 20th Century Fox movie, beams of light from two large spotlights pierced the sky announcing the festivity.
Lee Bishop, Bonner Springs senior and an art history major, was excited about the exhibit.
"We're seeing things that haven't been shown for years," she said, referring to the stored art works.
Admiring the exhibits, Bishop said of the $5 million gift. "The museum was worth every penny of it."
A number of other persons shared her enthusiasm.
J. Theodore Johnson, professor of French said, "It is a remarkable teaching museum. I am really extremely pleased and will bring my students here so that they can experience some of the works of art that are here."
Chancellor Archie R. Dykes praised the museum and said it was one of the finest university museums in the United States and would attract people to Kansas.
"After so many months of planning." Johnson said, "the art works are coming to life in this atmosphere, among people and music."
For instance, a country music group played in the 20th Century gallery and the Collegeium Musicum played in the 18th Century gallery.
Musical groups played in six of the museum's 12 galleries during the grand opening. Each group played music that correspondent to the gallery they were in.
"It will enrich and enhance the cultural lives of students for years to come," he said.
According to Eldredge, KU's collection is one of the most comprehensive collections in Kansas.
Ralph T. Coe, director of the Nelson Art Gallery, has said KU's art collection ranked among the finest in any comparable institution in the country.
According to Eldredge, KU's collection is particularly noteworthy in the areas of medieval art, 17th and 18th century art, American painting and graphics.
The collection includes Oriental and Western decorative art, Japanese prints and American paintiens.
A number of the collection's paintings have been shown recently in exhibits in Europe, Canada and the Orient.
University Archives
OPENING NIGHT FOR LIED CENTER
"SECRET
GARDEN" IS
CENTER'S
DEBUT
SARA BENNETT SEPT.27,1993
Less than 24 hours before opening night, "The Secret Garden" bore little resemblance to an award-winning Broadway musical.
Bird-shaped trees perched amid black crates, only hinted at the elaborate production in the works. But the secret to transforming the Lied Center stage into a child's garden lay hidden within those very crates.
Eric Insco, stage manager for the touring company of "The Secret Garden," said he was excited to be involved with the center's first production.
The Tony Award-winning musical "The Secret Garden" opens with an invitation-only performance tonight at the Lied Center, ushering in the $14.6 million performing arts complex's first season.
"I feel kind of lucky in a way," he said; gazing into the crimson and blue auditorium, "It really is a treat. The house is stunning, and I just know it's going to sound wonderful in here."
Inscio and his crew will spend 14 to 16 hours installing the six truckloads of equipment required for "The Secret Garden." Although the Lied Center has new state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, the touring company brought its own equipment, including an ornately painted proscenium, backdrops never before used on tour, lights and a large turntable that rotates to change scenes.
Lee Saylor, technical director for the Lied Center, said the center was providing 30 of
Preparing for the center's first performance has been nerve racking, Saylor said.
its 44 rigging lines from which the troupe will hang scenery, more than 70 crew members and stage hands, spotlights and 100 pounds of dry ice.
"The Lied Center staff is tied up in knots," he said. "We've spent months getting ready for this, and now it's here."
Insoca said opening a show in a new hall had inherent challenges, but the quality of the Lied Center was good enough to bring in other big-name shows.
"It really is a treat. The house is stunning, and I just know it's going to sound wonderful in here."
ERIC INSCO Stage manager
"Phantom of the Opera' will be able to play here," he said. "I bet you'll see 'Les Miserables' within the next two years."
Nevin Steinberg, sound technician for the touring group, said the Lied Center was one of the better halls "The Secret Garden" has played in.
"It's smaller than most, and the seating is intimate, which is good for this kind of show," he said. "I much prefer it to some of the caves we've played in."
As stage hands bustled about hanging lights and stacking crates, Inso shielded his eyes and peered into the Lied Center balcony. "It's pretty wonderful, isn't it?" he said.
KU students, staff, faculty, and donors helped plant over 50 trees and shrubs on campus last year.
Find out how you can support this growing tradition at www.replant.ku.edu
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