Bridges Hall of Music explained

Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music
Image Alt:Bridges Hall of Music interior
Alternate Names:Little Bridges
Building Type:Concert hall
Architectural Style:Spanish Renaissance
Address:150 E. 4th St.
Location City:Claremont, California
Location Country:United States
Coordinates:34.0972°N -117.7139°W
Namesake:Mabel Shaw Bridges
Opened Date:1915
Renovation Date:1971[1]
1999–2000
Destruction Date:-->
Owner:Pomona College
Height:17.2m (56.4feet)
Material:Stucco
Architect:Myron Hunt[2]
Unit Count:-->
Seating Capacity:550[3]

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 in Claremont, California, designed by Myron Hunt and opened in 1915. It was sponsored by a $100,000 gift (equivalent to $ in) from the parents of Mabel Shaw Bridges, a student in Pomona's class of 1908 who died of illness her junior year.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

In its early history, it was the premier destination of choice for prominent visitors to Southern California.[7]

The hall was closed in 1969 following the discovery of structural defects,[8] and fears that it would be demolished prompted a successful fundraising campaign that enabled a renovation, including a seismic retrofitting, beginning in 1971.[9] It was renovated again three decades later, reopening in fall 2000.[10]

Pomona's 2015 master plan identifies Little Bridges as one of five "architecturally distinguished buildings with historic stature",[11] and a 2015 environmental impact report from the college identifies it as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places,[12] although 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.[14]

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. The seating was inspired in part by the British Houses of Parliament, and was designed so that the hall would appear occupied even when filled only to a small portion of its capacity.

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.[15]

Pipe organ

The hall's current pipe organ is the Hill Memorial Organ, named after Carrie Schitker Hill.[16] It was constructed by C. B. Fisk and installed in 2001 after a planning process that lasted over a decade,[17] and has 3519 pipes over 66 ranks, weighing 20short ton.[18] [19] Previously, the hall used pipe organs by M. P. Moller installed at construction and in 1939.[20]

Usage

Pomona uses Little Bridges for a variety of musical and non-musical events, including convocation, practices and performances by the Pomona College Orchestra, and guest speaker lectures. The college also allows community and other outside groups to use the hall. It hosts roughly 45 musical performances per year, most of which are free to all.

Notes and References

  1. News: Allen . David . Bridges Hall of Music hits right notes for 100 years . 4 August 2020 . Daily Bulletin . 3 October 2015 . 22 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200922140741/https://www.dailybulletin.com/2015/10/03/bridges-hall-of-music-hits-right-notes-for-100-years/ . live .
  2. News: Revello . Adam . Campus Mainstay Little Bridges Turns 100 This Year . 4 August 2020 . . 18 September 2015 . 18 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200918162839/https://tsl.news/life-style4907/ . live .
  3. Web site: Bridges Hall of Music . . Pomona College . 4 August 2020 . en . 13 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200813092012/https://www.pomona.edu/academics/departments/music-department/facilities/bridges-hall-music . live .
  4. News: Neiuber . John . Bring life back to the Village with walking tour . 7 August 2020 . . 2 June 2020 . en . 13 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200813054141/https://www.claremont-courier.com/articles/opinion/t37911tour . dead .
  5. News: Michno . Christopher . Brutalist Building Set for Demolition Raises Questions of Sustainability and Design . 7 August 2020 . KCET . 19 September 2016 . en . 27 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200927231033/https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/brutalist-architecture-pomona-college-thatcher-music-building . live .
  6. Web site: Bridges Hall of Music and Lebus Court . Historic Campus Architecture Project . The Council of Independent Colleges . 8 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304190627/http://hcap.artstor.org/cgi-bin/library?a=d&d=p1316 . 4 March 2016.
  7. News: Rhodes . Mick . Colleges put Claremont in the spotlight . 4 August 2020 . . 22 August 2017 . en . 29 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200929095744/https://www.claremont-courier.com/education/t24595-spotlight . dead .
  8. Web site: 1969 . Pomona College Timeline . 7 August 2020 . en . 7 November 2014 . 9 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200809060515/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1960s/1969 . live .
  9. Web site: 1971 . Pomona College Timeline . 14 August 2020 . en . 7 November 2014 . 28 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201028054145/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1970s/1971 . live .
  10. Web site: 2000 . Pomona College Timeline . 14 August 2020 . en . 5 November 2014 . 27 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201127031952/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/2000s/2000 . live .
  11. Web site: Pomona College 2015 Campus Master Plan . Pomona College . 7 August 2020 . 1 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210801161931/https://www.pomona.edu/sites/default/files/pomona_master_plan.pdf . live .
  12. Web site: Pomona College 2015 Campus Master Plan Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report . City of Claremont . 8 August 2020 . 25 May 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180525212732/http://www.ci.claremont.ca.us/home/showdocument?id=1711 . live .
  13. News: Neiuber . John . The National Register of Historic Places Claremont Courier . 7 August 2020 . www.claremont-courier.com . 13 January 2017 . en . 17 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210617055555/https://www.claremont-courier.com/articles/opinion/t21783-neiuber . dead .
  14. Hunt . Myron (original construction) . Historic Campus Architecture Project . . Pomona College . community.11994098.
  15. Web site: 1915 . Pomona College Timeline . 7 August 2020 . en . 7 November 2014 . 21 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200721010533/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1910s/1915 . live .
  16. Web site: Opus 117 . cbfisk.com . . 7 August 2020 . 23 August 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190823010022/http://cbfisk.com/opus/opus-117/ . live .
  17. Web site: 2001 . Pomona College Timeline . 14 August 2020 . en . 5 November 2014 . 4 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210104150057/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/2000s/2001 . live .
  18. News: Peterson . William . The Hill Memorial Organ . 4 August 2020 . The American Organist . May 2002 . 13 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200813093914/https://www.pomona.edu/academics/departments/music/hill-memorial-organ . live .
  19. News: Beeks . Graydon . Little Bridges at 100 . 4 August 2020 . Pomona College Magazine . Pomona College . 3 August 2015 . 16 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190916070057/http://magazine.pomona.edu/2015/summer/bridges-hall-of-music/ . live .
  20. Web site: 1939 . Pomona College Timeline . 13 August 2020 . en . 7 November 2014 . 15 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210215050906/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1930s/1939 . live .

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