Pease Auditorium

Last updated

Pease Auditorium
PeaseAuditoriumEMUYpsilantiMI.jpg
Pease Auditorium
Address494 College Place
Ypsilanti, Michigan
United States
Coordinates 42°14′47.06″N83°37′17.38″W / 42.2464056°N 83.6214944°W / 42.2464056; -83.6214944
Capacity 1541
Construction
OpenedJune 22, 1915;108 years ago (1915-06-22)
Expanded1995
Architect Smith, Hinchman & Grylls
Pease Auditorium
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No. 84000018
Added to NRHP1984

Pease Auditorium is a concert hall on the campus of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The auditorium was dedicated in 1915 in memory of music professor Frederic H. Pease, at the institution then known as the Michigan State Normal College, and is the fourth-oldest building on the EMU campus. Pease Auditorium is in the Neoclassical Revival architectural style, and was designed by the Detroit-based firm Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls. The auditorium's 1500-seat capacity and excellent acoustics contribute to its reputation as a premier music venue, presenting the performances of the Eastern Michigan University Department of Music and Dance. [1]

Contents

Pease Auditorium was built to accommodate a large pipe organ, but no such organ was fitted when the auditorium opened. An 81-rank Aeolian-Skinner organ was installed in the early 1960s, and was fully restored in the late 1990s. Pease Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, and a major renovation and addition program concluded in 2001.

History

In the early 20th century, the Michigan State Normal College was thriving. The institution that would become Eastern Michigan University was founded as the Michigan State Normal School in 1849, and became the Michigan State Normal College in 1899 with the introduction of four-year academic programs. With the growth of the institution, the Conservatory of Music's quarters in the former Training School building were becoming cramped. Two successive university presidents advocated for the construction of an auditorium, and the necessary funds were raised during the term of Charles McKenny. Pease Auditorium was constructed at a cost of $159,000, [2] [3] equivalent to $3.5 million in 2023. [4]

A cramped choir performance in the former Training School building in the early 1890s Professor F.H. Pease and the Normal Choir in Old Normal Hall, 1892-3.jpg
A cramped choir performance in the former Training School building in the early 1890s

The auditorium was initially planned to be named after John D. Pierce, the first Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction. Ypsilanti residents objected during the construction, and petitioned to change the buildling's namesake to music professor Frederic H. Pease, who died suddenly in 1909. [5] This effort was successful, and the auditorium was dedicated as Pease Auditorium on June 22, 1915. [3]

Pease Auditorium featured the latest technologies in construction, ventilation, and lighting at its opening. The auditorium was constructed of fireproof concrete and steel, and was fitted with a ventilation system capable of providing entirely new fresh air every ten minutes. The building was fitted with 400 electric lights, designed to provide diffuse light that emulated daylight. [6]

The original plans of the auditorium were drawn to accommodate a large pipe organ, but budget restrictions required the removal of the organ itself from the project. Frederick Alexander, successor to Pease as head of the Conservatory of Music, made it his mission to install a grand organ in Pease Auditorium. Alexander left $90,000 (equivalent to $799,000in 2023) [4] in his will to fund it, and plans for the organ began after Alexander's death in 1955. [7] The first performance on the new Aeolian-Skinner organ was given in October 1960, after a year of tuning by music professor Erich Goldsmith. [2] The stage was expanded to account for the size of the organ, removing 100 seats. [3]

Interior of Pease Auditorium
Pease EMUMB.jpg
Marching band performance
Pease Auditorium interior for dance performance.jpg
Configured for a dance performance
Pease Auditorium BOE Plaque Cropped.jpg
Dedication plaque

Pease Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, but was also falling into disrepair. By 1990, the auditorium was unusable due to its deterioration. The university launched a major fundraising campaign to repair and expand Pease, taking advantage of federal grants and private donations. Major repairs were done to the interior and exterior of Pease, and the backstage area of the auditorium was expanded to include a green room for performers. Elevators and ramps were added for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the seating capacity was reduced slightly to 1541. The $5.7 million ($10.9 million in 2023) renovation program concluded in 1995, with a reopening performance featuring Branford Marsalis. [8]

The organ was disassembled and removed with the start of the renovation program, and refurbished over the course of several years. The reinstallation was complete in early 2001, and the Frederick Alexander Memorial Organ was rededicated in performance in April 2001. [9]

Namesake

Frederic H. Pease, namesake, c. 1899 Michigan State Normal-1899-309.jpg
Frederic H. Pease, namesake, c.1899

Pease Auditorium is named for longtime music professor Frederic H. Pease (1839-1909), Professor of Music at the Michigan State Normal School. Pease was the son of Ruth H. Crocker and Peter Pindar Pease, both early settlers of Oberlin, Ohio and contributors to the founding of Oberlin College. Frederic Pease studied under Professor E. M. Foote of Oberlin and traveled the Midwest, settling in Ypsilanti in 1859 to teach piano. Pease met Josephine Antoinette Dolsen, a student of music at the Normal College, that year, and they were married in November. [10]

Frederic Pease was appointed director of the Conservatory of Music at the Normal School in 1863, a position that he held until his death. Pease founded the Ypsilanti Musical Union, regularly played church organs in Jackson and Detroit, composed music, and wrote textbooks for music teachers throughout his career. The Ypsilanti Musical Union grew rapidly from its founding in 1870, and proved so popular that the Ypsilanti Opera House was constructed for it in 1880. [10]

Stained glass dedicated to Josephine Dolsen Pease
Pease Auditorium Stained Glass 1.jpg
Pease Auditorium Stained Glass 2.jpg

Josephine A. Dolsen Pease died in childbirth in 1877, at the age of 37. Frederic Pease died of sudden heart failure on March 22, 1909, at his house on South Summit Street. [5]

After Josephine's death, Frederic commissioned a stained glass window in her memory at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in downtown Ypsilanti, where he was a distinguished member. The windows were later placed in storage, and were restored and installed in Pease Auditorium in 2015. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oberlin College</span> Private college in Oberlin, Ohio, US

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second-oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of higher learning in the world. The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Michigan University</span> Public university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, US

Eastern Michigan University, is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school established in the United States and the first American normal school founded outside New England. In 1899, the Michigan State Normal School became the first normal school in the nation to offer a four-year curriculum and gained the name Michigan State Normal College. In 1959, the college became a university and gained its current name of Eastern Michigan University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hill Auditorium</span> Performance venue on University of Michigan campus

Hill Auditorium is the largest performance venue on the University of Michigan campus, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The auditorium was named in honor of Arthur Hill (1847–1909), who served as a regent of the university from 1901 to 1909. He bequeathed $200,000 to the university for the construction of a venue for lectures, musical performances, and other large productions. Opened in 1913, the auditorium was designed by Albert Kahn and Associates. It was renovated by the same firm beginning in 2002 and was re-opened in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School of Music, Theatre, and Dance</span> Performing arts school at the University of Michigan

The School of Music, Theatre, and Dance is the undergraduate and graduate school for the performing arts of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Depot Town</span> Commercial area of Ypsilanti

Depot Town is a commercial area, with some residences above storefronts, in Ypsilanti, Michigan's historic district. Depot Town proper consists of East Cross Street from the Huron River to North River Street, and a small area on the 300-block of North River Street. However, several blocks in the surrounding area are also commonly referred to as part of Depot Town. These areas include Riverside Park, Frog Island Park, and River Street extending north and south for several blocks. First established in the late 1830s, most of the buildings standing today were constructed between 1850 and 1880. Over the years, Depot Town has included hotels, an Underground Railroad station, an American Civil War barracks, and a building that has housed a bar and restaurant continuously for more than 150 years, switching to soft drinks during Prohibition. Today the area is dominated by restaurants and stores. Depot Town also hosts several large summer festivals each year, as well as weekly bike nights and cruise nights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Street Railway</span>

The Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Street Railway, known informally as the Ypsi-Ann, was an interurban railroad operating in southeastern Michigan; it was the first such operation in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Martin</span> American academic administrator

Susan Work Martin is an American academic administrator who was most recently the interim president of San José State University. Previously, Martin served as president of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan from 2008 to 2015. She was the first female president in the university’s 160-year history. She held a simultaneous appointment as Professor of Accounting in the College of Business during her tenure at Eastern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ypsilanti Historical Society</span> Local historical society that operates a museum and archives in Ypsilanti, Michigan

The Ypsilanti Historical Society, founded in 1961, operates the Ypsilanti Historical Museum and Rudisill-Fletcher-White Archives in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. The YHS Museum & Archives are located at 220 North Huron Street in the Historic 1860 Dow House, a Victorian Italianate mansion built in 1860 for Asa and Minerva Dow. Asa Dow moved to Ypsilanti to become the first president of the Ypsilanti Savings Bank. In 1864 Minerva died under unknown circumstances, and Asa sold the home and moved back to Chicago. Minerva Dow was the second person interred at Ypsilanti's newly constructed Highland Cemetery. The house came into possession of the Ypsilanti Historical Society in 1970 after previously being owned by the City of Ypsilanti since 1966. The City purchased the property and other stately homes on the east side of North Huron Street with the design to turn the location into a Ypsilanti version of neighboring Ann Arbor's successful Arborland. Local community members boycotted the effort and the event served as the impetus for the creation of the Ypsilanti Historic District. Prior to 1966 the house was in disrepair, as the home had been turned into at least six apartments since 1922. In 2007 the Fletcher-White Archives moved from the property's two story carriage house into the newly renovated basement of the main house. The Rudisill-Fletcher-White Archives contains a meeting space, a reading room, filing cabinets for document and photograph storage, and a temperature and humidity-controlled storage room. Much of the collections of the YHS Archives are the work product of former Ypsilanti City Historians Louis S. White and Foster Fletcher. The position of Ypsilanti City Historian was discontinued with the retirement of Foster Fletcher and the City of Ypsilanti Archives were transferred from their location at the Downtown Ypsilanti Public Library on Michigan Avenue to the Ypsilanti Historical Society, which has continually grown the collection since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McKenny Hall</span> United States historic place

McKenny Hall, previously called McKenny Union and Charles McKenny Union, was the first student union on the campus of the Michigan State Normal College in Ypsilanti, Michigan. At various times the building has included bookstores, a bowling alley, a bank, a food court, a ballroom, and other social spaces for students. Today the building is known as McKenny Hall and is home to human resources, academic advising, and career services. After the new Eastern Michigan University Student Center opened in 2006, McKenny closed for renovations and structural preservation work. The building is located across from the famous Ypsilanti Water Tower on Cross Street and is a contributing property to the Eastern Michigan University Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ypsilanti, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Ypsilanti, commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and east by Ypsilanti Township. It is home of Eastern Michigan University.

Eastern Michigan University was founded in 1849 by the state of Michigan, and opened in 1853 as Michigan State Normal School. Michigan State Normal School was the first in Michigan and the first normal school created outside the original 13 colonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Michigan University Student Center</span> Student union in Michigan, USA

The Eastern Michigan University Student Center is Eastern Michigan University's student union. Since its opening in 2006 the EMU Student Center replaced McKenny Union as the student hub of campus life. The building is simply referred to as "The Student Center" by students faculty and staff. In 2017 the Student Center was named the number one student union in the country by the College Rank. The building is located in University Park near the Rec/IM and Library. It is also the location of the EMU Bookstore, a 24/7 computer lab, two art galleries, various offices and Admissions. The Student Center also includes the Kiva Room.

Ralph Stephens Gerganoff, born Rashko Stoyanov Gerganov, also frequently referred to as R.S. Gerganoff was an American architect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starkweather Hall</span> United States historic place

Starkweather Hall, also known as Starkweather Religious Center, is a religious and educational building located at 901 West Forest Avenue in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1972 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It is also part of the Eastern Michigan University Historic District and is the oldest building on EMU's campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Michigan University Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

Eastern Michigan University Historic District is a historic district on the very south end of the Eastern Michigan University campus. Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan in Washtenaw County. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School. Several buildings since its founding have achieved historical significance and eventually establishing it on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The district was established in 1984.

The 1940 Michigan State Normal Hurons football team represented Michigan State Normal College during the 1940 college football season. In their 19th season under head coach Elton Rynearson, the Hurons compiled a record of 1–5–1, failed to score in four of seven games, and were outscored by all opponents by a combined total of 125 to 34. Walter Siera was the team captain. The team played its home games at Briggs Field on the school's campus in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

The 1891 Michigan State Normal Normalites football team represented Michigan State Normal School during the 1891 college football season. In the first season of intercollegiate football at Michigan Normal, the Normalites played only two games, losing to Ann Arbor High School (4–34) and the University of Michigan literary team (0–30). James M. Swift was the team's coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calvin Brainerd Cady</span>

Calvin Brainerd Cady was an American musician, music teacher, leading educational philosopher and writer of the progressive era of education in his subject area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Washington Theatre</span>

The Martha Washington Theatre is a former movie theater in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The Martha Washington was built and initially operated by Florence W. Signor of Ypsilanti, the only woman theatre operator in Michigan at the time. Signor sold the Martha Washington to W. S. Butterfield Theatres in 1925, which operated it as a first-run cinema until the 1970s.

References

  1. "Pease Auditorium Technical Information". BookEMU. Eastern Michigan University. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  2. 1 2 "Eastern Michigan University Campus Buildings: Pease Auditorium". Eastern Michigan University Archives. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  3. 1 2 3 Macias, Richard; Collins, Malcolm L.; Newmann, Richard A.; Schweitzer, Robert A. (1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form: Pease Auditorium" . Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  4. 1 2 Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 2023-11-30. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  5. 1 2 3 Anschuetz, Janice (Summer 2015). "Pease Auditorium Turns 100 Magnificent Years" (PDF). Ypsilanti Gleanings. Ypsilanti Historical Society. pp. 10–15.
  6. "Great Auditorium for State Normal College is Opened". Detroit Free Press. June 27, 1915. p. A19. ProQuest   565874560.
  7. "Eastern Michigan University Campus Buildings: Alexander Music Building". Eastern Michigan University Archives. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  8. Collins Mathis, Jo (September 13, 1995). "Pease ready for reopening night: Renovation gives auditorium new look for first concert Oct. 6". The Ann Arbor News. pp. A1, A4 via NewsBank.
  9. Mulcahy, John (April 6, 2001). "Refurbished Pease Auditorium organ to be dedicated tonight". The Ann Arbor News. p. C2 via NewsBank.
  10. 1 2 Anschuetz, Janice (Spring 2012). "Frederic Henry Pease: Ypsilanti's Man for All Seasons". Ypsilanti Gleanings. Ypsilanti Historical Society. pp. 19–26. Retrieved 2024-01-27 via Ann Arbor District Library.