Bridges Hall of Music
The Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music, more commonly known as Little Bridges (to distinguish it from nearby Bridges Auditorium, known as Big Bridges), is a concert hall at Pomona College designed by Myron Hunt and opened in 1915. It was sponsored by a $100,000 gift (equivalent to $2.53 million in 2019) from the parents of Mabel Shaw Bridges, a student in Pomona's class of 1908 who died of illness her junior year.[6] It is used for a variety of musical and non-musical purposes, and is considered the "architectural gem" of Pomona's campus and one of Hunt's finest works.[7]
Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music | |
---|---|
Alternative names | Little Bridges |
General information | |
Type | Concert hall |
Architectural style | Spanish Renaissance[1] |
Address | 150 E. 4th St. |
Town or city | Claremont, California |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 34°05′50″N 117°42′50″W |
Named for | Mabel Shaw Bridges |
Opened | 1915[1] |
Renovated | 1971[1] 1999–2000[2] |
Owner | Pomona College |
Height | 17.2 m (56 ft) |
Technical details | |
Material | Stucco[3] |
Design and construction | |
Architect | Myron Hunt[4] |
Other information | |
Seating capacity | 550[5] |
Public transit access | Claremont |
Website | |
pomona |
History
The hall was designed as the primary anchor point for the south side of Marston Quadrangle in Hunt's Master Plan for the Pomona campus.[3]
In its early history, it was the premier destination of choice for prominent visitors to Southern California.[8]
The hall was closed in 1969 following the discovery of structural defects,[9] and fears that it would be demolished prompted a successful fundraising campaign that enabled a renovation, including a seismic retrofitting,[3] beginning in 1971.[10] It was renovated again three decades later, reopening in fall 2000.[2]
Pomona's 2015 master plan identifies Little Bridges as one of five "architecturally distinguished buildings with historic stature",[11] and a 2015 impact report from the college identifies it as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places,[12] although as of 2020 the college has not yet applied for it to be listed. John Neiuber, writing for the Claremont Courier in 2017, expressed surprise it is not listed.[13]
Architecture
The building takes the form of a basilica, and is built in a modified Spanish Renaissance style, incorporating a number of influences.[1]
It is split into two halves. The northern half contains the concert hall, featuring a heavy wood beam ceiling painted with coats of arms from the Medici family.[3] The seating was inspired in part by the British Houses of Parliament,[1] and was designed so that the hall would appear occupied even when filled only to a small portion of its capacity.[14]
The southern half contains a colonnade with Ionic columns surrounding Lebus Court, home to the college's art history department and The Spirit of Spanish Music, a bronze sculpture by Burt William Johnson.[14]
Pipe organ
The hall's current pipe organ is the Hill Memorial Organ, named after Carrie Schitker Hill.[15] It was constructed by C. B. Fisk and installed in 2001 after a planning process that lasted over a decade,[16] and has 3519 pipes over 66 ranks, weighing 20 short tons (40,000 lb; 18,000 kg).[1][15][17][18] Previously, the hall used pipe organs by M. P. Moller installed at construction and in 1939.[19]
Usage
Pomona uses Little Bridges for a variety of music and non-musical events, including convocation, practices and performances by the Pomona College Orchestra, and guest speaker lectures.[5] The college also allows community and other outside groups to use the hall.[5] It hosts roughly 45 musical performances per year, most of which are free to all.[5]
References
- Allen, David (3 October 2015). "Bridges Hall of Music hits right notes for 100 years". Daily Bulletin. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- "2000". Pomona College Timeline. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- "Bridges Hall of Music and Lebus Court". Historic Campus Architecture Project. The Council of Independent Colleges. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- Revello, Adam (18 September 2015). "Campus Mainstay Little Bridges Turns 100 This Year". The Student Life. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- "Bridges Hall of Music". Pomona College. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- Neiuber, John (2 June 2020). "Bring life back to the Village with walking tour". Claremont Courier. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- Michno, Christopher (19 September 2016). "Brutalist Building Set for Demolition Raises Questions of Sustainability and Design". KCET. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- Rhodes, Mick (22 August 2017). "Colleges put Claremont in the spotlight". Claremont Courier. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- "1969". Pomona College Timeline. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- "1971". Pomona College Timeline. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- "Pomona College 2015 Campus Master Plan" (PDF). Pomona College. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- "Pomona College 2015 Campus Master Plan Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report". City of Claremont. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- Neiuber, John (13 January 2017). "The National Register of Historic Places | Claremont Courier". www.claremont-courier.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- "1915". Pomona College Timeline. Pomona College. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- "Opus 117". cbfisk.com. C. B. Fisk. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- "2001". Pomona College Timeline. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- Peterson, William (May 2002). "The Hill Memorial Organ". The American Organist. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- Beeks, Graydon (3 August 2015). "Little Bridges at 100". Pomona College Magazine. Pomona College. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- "1939". Pomona College Timeline. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2020.