University of Central Arkansas: Auditorium Addition – Conway AR

City:
Conway, AR

Site Type:
Education and Health, Schools, Colleges and Universities

New Deal Agencies:
Public Works Funding, Public Works Administration (PWA)

Description

“Over the next two decades, the Administration Building witnessed the expansion of Arkansas State Teachers College, growing from twenty faculty members and 328 students in 1917 to forty-four faculty members and 745 students in 1939.  Despite the effects of the Great Depression, moreover, the college was able to add a 1,200 seat auditorium on the west side of the Administration Building in 1937. The auditorium addition was designed by George Hyde Wittenberg (1892-1953) and Lawson L. Delony (1890-1976) of Little Rock. This, and three other new campus buildings, was funded by economic stimulus funds supplied by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in the form of a $245,000 loan and a $200,454 grant.  A significant focal point of the campus and equipped with a fully-rigged fly system, the new auditorium provided a venue for plays, concerts, assemblies, graduations, and other social and ceremonial events.  The auditorium’s 9,296 square-foot interior featured a generous stage area, an orchestra pit, dual-aisle access, balcony seating, and a coffered ceiling. In 1937, the auditorium was named the Ida Waldran Memorial Chapel in honor of one of the school’s first faculty members who was also Dean of Women.”

Source notes

https://www.arkansaspreservation.com/historic-properties/_search_nomination_popup.aspx?id=2560

Location Info


201 Donaghey Ave
Conway, AR 72034

Coordinates: 35.079269, -92.45420

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