Lewisburg’s own Carnegie Hall is reopening with major upgrades.
Before opening to a 7:30 p.m. showing of The Hillbilly Gypsies with Corey Lee McQuade on their stage, a ribbon cutting was held to highlight the work done to the building over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, while shows have been at a standstill.
“I’m excited that this day has finally arrived – to cut the ribbon and unveil the beautiful new auditorium that we’re going to celebrate tonight,” said CEO Cathy Rennard.
“Oh, it’s exciting,” Carnegie Hall Board of Directors President Liz Wickline told The West Virginia Daily News. “We’re excited to open the doors again and have live music and, and showcase the beautiful renovations that we’ve been doing last year. It’s been over 600 days since they were able to open the doors.”
Angus Peyton, coordinator for the James F.B. Peyton Fund, cuts the ribbon. |
Two former executive directors, Susan Adkins and Sara Crickenberger, took to the podium before the ribbon cutting, explaining the history and the scope of the project.
“Plan the work and work the plan – this might not have been the mantra of the trustees of the Greenbrier College for Women in the early 1900s, but this is exactly what they did,” said Adkins. “They put together an aggressive plan of renovation and construction for the college, including the creation of a classroom and performance space for their active arts curriculum. They made sure the space included an acoustic auditorium to feature student and world class performances. Andrew Carnegie, along with support from the community, provided the funds to see the successful completion of what would be named Carnegie Hall. From the beginning, the public was invited to the performance series featuring artists not easily accessible to the area. Until the 70s, the college was responsible for planning the work needed to maintain the hall. However, once the college closed, the building fell into disrepair.”
This led to the creation of the group responsible for maintaining the Hall, and the newest improvement projects.
“Fortunately, in the 90s, a group of concerned citizens came together and developed a plan to restore the majestic Hall,” Adkins said. “Since the 90s, the building committee, the Board of Directors, and staff … have continued to develop a plan for ongoing improvements and repairs. … A 10-year plan was developed, which included installation of interior storm windows, state of the art lining in the galleries, a true dance floor in the studio, and a chimney liner. The stage was fully replaced along with the floors in the boardroom in the green room. Improvements were made to restrooms. … We are here tonight to dedicate the final part of a 10-year plan.”
Many of the improvements were handled in-house or by subcontractors managed by Carnegie Hall staff.
“Alan Sizemore, who was facilities manager, and I decided that we would serve as our own general contractors and we would manage all the work in-house,” Crickenberger said. “That meant a lot more work for Alan, but allowed us to complete the bathroom project within our budget. We put in new flooring, seats, safety railings, glass, painted, and created a safer new entrance on each side. That process worked so well that we again served as our own general contractor for the main port project, with new Facilities Manager Michael Kincaid taking on the key role of managing the contractors and keeping our staff and contractors safe during the pandemic. We replaced the carpet, tile seats, completed the painting, refurbished the front entrance, repaired the pillars and painted, upgraded the lights and sound system, and made major changes to the heating and cooling system that will keep patrons safer and more comfortable.”
This also includes upgrades to the air conditioning system.
“We knew that it outlived its usefulness, we knew it was going to fail at any time,” Crickenberger said. “Of course everybody knows it would go down during Kids’ College in the middle of July, when we had 200 kids in the building and it was burning hot. We replaced it. We determined that we could make the biggest impact for patrons by renovating the balcony first with the funds that we had available. We worked with the Mills Group to develop a complete renovation plan for the auditorium, including design, colors, paint, flooring, seating,… so that the balcony project could integrate smoothly into the renovation of the main floor.”
Alongside the thanks to the staff and contractors working on the building, the speakers also celebrated many of the donors that made it financially possible.
“First I want to thank Angus Peyton and Peyton family for what they’re doing through the Peyton fund,” Crickenberger said. “The Peyton fund has been transformational in Greenbrier County, not just for Carnegie Hall, but for Greenberg County. … We used the Peyton and grant funds to leverage other grants. Over and over, the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, and the Hamilton family foundation stepped forward to help.”
“None of these improvements were last minute decisions,” Adkins said. “The Carnegie Hall Building Committee, along with the staff, and the Carnegie Hall Board of Directors made the plan, then they worked the plan. Long-term funders continue to come forward to support the work. You’ve heard about many of them, but I can’t say enough [about] people like the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Hamilton family, and then the Hamilton Family Foundation, and the Peyton fund, the Carnegie Hall Foundation, and you, the individual members and donors, are what has made all of this possible. … We all come together tonight to celebrate this great accomplishment, a shining example of what is possible when you plan the work and then you work the plan.”
Susan Adkins addresses the crowd. |
Rennard agreed.
“I don’t have to tell you how fortunate and blessed we are in this community to have the local philanthropy that we do and the mindset that is there.”
With the ribbon cut by Angus Peyton, the newly renovated hall will now be open for a slate of upcoming shows found on their website, carnegiehallwv.org.
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