 "Photo: NOLAN PETERSON, THE VOLANTE, 2010")
Although only the sounds of construction echo across its stage right now, Slagle Hall is on its way to drawing open its curtains to campus crowds for the first time since spring of 2009.
With construction to be finished in late summer, Cathy Wagner, planning and construction director, said USD hopes to reopen the auditorium by fall 2010.
As part of what Wagner called USD’s “overall long-term maintenance of the facility,” the $8.1 million construction project was undertaken to help modernize some of the aspects of Slagle Hall and to better enhance the events that take place there.
“We also had donors (who were) very actively interested in returning it to its former glory,” Wagner said. Wagner said this is the first time that Slagle Hall, which was built in 1925, has had any major renovations.
“It’s a good idea but (the renovations) should have been done a long time ago,” senior Kevin McKinstry said.
Although the completion date had to be pushed back because the contractor needed to complete another USD project, Wagner said the project is now on its new schedule.
In order to restore the historical aspects of the auditorium, Slagle Hall’s unaltered E.M. Skinner Opus 548 Organ will also be renovated and brought back to life due to the project, USD manager of Media Relations Phil Carter said.
Wagner said USD also came up with plans to restore the north stairs of the auditorium back to their original design by repairing and restoring the plaster.
“Basically, what we did was maintain the historical significance of the auditorium itself, but improved the performance aspects of the building and gave it modern technology for performances,” Wagner said.
Carter said the performance aspects of the auditorium that were refined included improving the sightlines, which controls how well the audience views the performance, lighting upgrades and adding additional
restrooms.
Some more modern technology is also being put in or updated, such as an acoustic control system, Wagner said.
The system will allow them to have default settings for what the acoustics should be in any situation, from the differences of a brass and string quartette to how a speaker should sound.
Air-conditioning will also be added and the seats will be made more comfortable and accessible, Wagner said.
Carter said all of these improvements will allow Slagle to provide the university community with an “elegant and exciting venue” for large events, including musical theatre, orchestras and musical ensembles, soloists, dance companies and lectures.
The project will also allow for new uses of the facility, Carter said, having potential to be a “laboratory for the arts” to allow students to learn about behind the scene techniques for putting on stage productions as well as be able to act on stage.
Senior president of Strollers Andrew Lesch said it was a good idea to upgrade the auditorium.
“Slagle is an old building in itself. The chairs were old and the stage was pretty beat-up,” Lesch said.
Lesch said there have been some frustrations with the construction among student groups.
“We usually practice there,” Lesch said. “We’ve had to find new locations for the cast and the Strollers to practice at.”
Although he thinks it was a good idea, Lesch said he wishes the project had not been as lengthy.
“I think it definitely needed an upgrade, but it’s kind of been taking a little too long,” Lesch said.
Sophomore Emily Lundgren said the construction also affected her.
“I was annoyed when I had a class there. I took a summer class and it was really loud and you could hear in class,” Lundgren said.
Reach reporter Chris Jessen at Chris.Jessen@usd.edu.
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