This article possibly contains original research .(January 2022) |
Address | 4602 Sunset Avenue Indianapolis, Indiana United States |
---|---|
Coordinates | 39°50′25″N86°10′11″W / 39.840278°N 86.169722°W |
Owner | Butler University |
Operator | Butler University |
Capacity | 2,096 2,172 possible |
Current use | Performing arts |
Construction | |
Opened | October 18, 1963 |
Years active | 1963–present |
Architect | Evans Woollen III and John M. Johansen |
Website | |
www |
Clowes Memorial Hall, officially known as Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University, is a performance hall located on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Opened October 18, 1963, it hosts numerous significant concerts, orchestras, musicals, plays, and guest speakers. Clowes Hall anchors the Butler Arts and Events Center, which includes the Schrott Center for the Arts, Shelton Auditorium, the Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall, and the Lilly Hall Studio Theatre. [1]
Clowes ( /kluːz/ ) Memorial Hall, which opened in 1963, was co-designed by noted Indianapolis architect Evans Woollen III, of Woollen, Molzan and Partners, and John M. Johansen, a well-known architect who established his practice in New Canaan, Connecticut. The performing hall is notable for its exposed concrete slabs, which are typical of the Brutalist architecture style. [2] Woollen served as the junior partner in the project but was the "driving force behind its design and detail." [3] Since it opened, the architectural community has praised its bold design. [3] In 2021, a six-person panel of American Institute of Architects (AIA) Indianapolis members identified the venue among the ten most "architecturally significant" buildings completed in the city since World War II. [4]
The design for the 24,000 sq ft (2,200 m2), $3.5 million building was a controversial one. Still, Allen Whitehill Clowes, son of George Henry Alexander Clowes, for whom the building is named, supported Woollen's proposal. Johanson had been Woollen's professor at Yale and was a former classmate of Allen Clowes at Harvard University. [5]
Clowes, a former director of biochemical research for Eli Lilly and Company, maintained a lifetime love of the arts. With the help of his wife and Butler University, the Clowes Fund was created to help build the performing arts facility. The building was initially intended to be used by both Butler University and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. This joint venture continued until 1984 when the orchestra purchased, renovated, and moved to the historic Hilbert Circle Theatre on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. [1]
In addition to being the former home of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Clowes Memorial Hall has been home to a number of notable music performances and productions. In 2011, Indianapolis-born Adam Lambert recorded his Glam Nation Tour at the venue for the Glam Nation Live CD/DVD set.
Among those who have appeared at Clowes are Barbra Streisand (1963), Bob Hope (1963), Ella Fitzgerald (1967), Judy Garland (1967), Johnny Carson (1967), Diana Ross & The Supremes (1968), Beach Boys (1968), Benny Goodman Sextet (1977), Harry Chapin (1979), comedian George Carlin (1984), Sandi Patty (1985), R.E.M. (1985), Whitney Houston (1985), The Psychedelic Furs (1987), Miles Davis (1987), Maya Angelou (1988), Alan Parsons Live (Project) (1995), Vertical Horizon (2000), Everclear (2002), Michelle Branch (2003), comedian Chris Rock (2004), Ben Folds (2005), My Morning Jacket (2006), band OK Go (2007), Common (rapper (2008), John Mellencamp (2010), Elton John (2010), coach Bob Knight (2011), author John Green (2011), The Fray (2011), Garrison Keillor (2012), Jimmy Fallon (2012), author David Sedaris (2012), Colbie Caillat (2013), Jay Leno (2014), Kesha (2016), comedian Gabriel Iglesias (2017), John Hiatt (2017), Alison Krauss (2018), travel host Rick Steves (2019), astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson (2021), Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets (Pink Floyd's drummer) (2022), Impractical Jokers' Joe Gatto (2022), William Shatner (2023), archaeologist host Josh Gates (2023), the Broadway play Hadestown (2024), and comedian Jim Gaffigan (2024). [6]
Seating area | Capacity |
---|---|
Main Floor | 1,218 |
First Terrace and Boxes | 307 |
Second Terrace and Boxes | 289 |
Third Terrace and Boxes | 282 |
Pit Seating (limited viewing seats) | 76 |
Total capacity | 2,172 |
Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the bare building materials and structural elements over decorative design. The style commonly makes use of exposed, unpainted concrete or brick, angular geometric shapes and a predominantly monochrome colour palette; other materials, such as steel, timber, and glass, are also featured.
Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communication, College of Education, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Jordan College of the Arts. Its 295-acre (119 ha) campus is approximately five miles (8.0 km) from downtown Indianapolis.
Saint Mary's College is a private Catholic women's liberal arts college in Notre Dame, Indiana. Founded in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, the name of the school refers to the Virgin Mary.
Herron School of Art and Design, officially IU Herron School of Art and Design, is a public art school at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a professional art school and has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design since 1952.
White River Gardens is a botanical garden located at White River State Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Established in 1999, the gardens are managed and operated by the Indianapolis Zoo. In 2021, White River Gardens' 3.3 acres (1.3 ha) was home to nearly 50,000 plants of more than 3,000 species. The complex includes a conservatory, fountains and water features, outdoor gardens, a dining and event facility, and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of paths. The gardens are situated to the east of the zoo's entry plaza on the western bank of the White River overlooking downtown Indianapolis.
The Grainger Engineering Library Information Center (GELIC) is a library at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Grainger College of Engineering for all disciplines of engineering at the university. It is situated on the north side of the Bardeen Quad on the engineering campus along Springfield Avenue. The Grainger Engineering Library is the largest library in the United States for the study of engineering. It is one of several "departmental" libraries that constitute the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign University Library.
The Indianapolis Union Station is an intercity train station in the Wholesale District of Indianapolis, Indiana. Currently, Amtrak's Cardinal line serves the terminal, passing through Indianapolis three times a week.
John MacLane Johansen was an American architect and a member of the Harvard Five. Johansen took an active role in the modern movement.
The Old National Centre, formerly known as the Murat Shrine Temple and the Murat Shrine Center, is located at North and New Jersey streets in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is owned by the Murat Shriners of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. The theater portion of the building is now known as the Murat Theatre at Old National Centre or simply the Murat Theatre and houses the oldest extant stage house in downtown Indianapolis. It is the only Shrine Center in the world with a name of French origin and is the largest Shrine Center in North America.
Bohlen, Meyer, Gibson and Associates, or BMG, is an architectural firm based in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was founded in Indianapolis on April 10, 1853, as D. A. Bohlen, Architect by Diedrich A. Bohlen, German immigrant. In 1884, after Diedrich's son, Oscar D. Bohlen, joined the firm it was renamed D. A. Bohlen and Son. Four successive generations of Bohlen architects have worked at the firm: Diedrich A. Bohlen, Oscar D. Bohlen, August C. Bohlen, and Robert L. Bohlen. The firm specialized in institutional projects, especially civic, religious, and educational buildings. In 1971 Melvin B. G. Meyer acquired majority interest in the firm, which adopted its name in reference to its founder and its two principal architects, Meyer and John M. Gibson. The architectural firm is among the oldest still operating in the United States. More than twenty of its projects are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kurt Vonnegut Sr. was an American architect and architectural lecturer active in early- to mid-20th-century Indianapolis, Indiana. A member of the American Institute of Architects, he was partner in the firms of Vonnegut & Bohn, Vonnegut, Bohn & Mueller, and Vonnegut, Wright & Yeager. He designed several churches, banks, and became the in-house architect for Indiana Bell and Hooks Drug stores, practicing extensively in the Art Deco style. He was the father of chemist Bernard Vonnegut and author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Woollen, Molzan and Partners (WMP) is a U.S.-based second-generation architecture, interior design, and planning firm that Evans Woollen III founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1955. The firm was previously known as Evans Woollen and Associates and Woollen Associates. It remained in business for more than fifty-five years before closing its doors in 2011. Woollen began by designing mid-century modern residences, but the firm's design projects expanded to include a diverse portfolio of designs for libraries, worship facilities, museums, performing arts centers, private residences, public housing, and correctional facilities, among other projects.
The Arthur Jordan Memorial Hall, often referred to as "Jordan Hall", is a historic building on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is one of the original buildings of the campus, along with Atherton Union and Hinkle Fieldhouse. It was designed by architect Robert Frost Daggett and built in 1928. A four-story, Collegiate Gothic style building, it is a reinforced concrete structure with bearing walls of pink granite with limestone trim.
The Minton–Capehart Federal Building is a United States federal building in Indianapolis, Indiana, that is named in honor of former U.S. Senator and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sherman Minton and former U.S. Senator Homer E. Capehart.
The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra (ICO) is a nonprofit chamber orchestra headquartered at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 2019-2020 it will celebrate its 35th season.
Diedrich Augustus Bohlen a native of Cadenberge, Kingdom of Hanover, immigrated to the United States around 1851 and founded D. A. Bohlen, Architect, in 1853 at Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1971 it became Bohlen, Meyer, Gibson and Associates, and is among the oldest architectural firms in the United States still in operation. Bohlen is best known for introducing the German Neo-Gothic architecture style to Indiana. Bohlen and his firm specialized in institutional projects, especially civic, religious, and educational buildings. More than forty of the firm's projects are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including several of D. A. Bohlen's designs: Morris-Butler House (1864); Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church (1871), its rectory (1863), and bishop's residence (1878); Indianapolis's Roberts Park Methodist Church (1876) and Crown Hill Cemetery's Gothic Chapel (1877); and in collaboration with his son, Oscar D. Bohlen, the Indianapolis City Market (1886). The combined campus of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods make up the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Historic District, the largest cohesive collection of Bohlen buildings. The District is of statewide significance on the National Register of Historic Places, for its contribution to architectural, educational and religious history.
Evans Woollen III was an American architect who is credited for introducing the Modern and the Brutalist architecture styles to his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. Woollen, a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) and a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture, was active in the field from the mid-1950s to the early 2000s. He established his own architecture firm in Indianapolis in 1955 that became known as Woollen, Molzan and Partners; it dissolved in 2011. As a pacesetter among architects in the Midwest, Woollen, dubbed the dean of Indiana architects, was noted for his use of bold materials and provocative, modern designs.
Central Library is the main branch of the Indianapolis Public Library in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Central Library opened to the public on October 8, 1917. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Central Library on August 28, 1975.