Bridges Hall of Music
Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music | |
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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 / 34.09722°N 117.71389°WCoordinates: 34°05′50″N 117°42′50″W / 34.09722°N 117.71389°W |
Named for | Mabel Shaw Bridges |
Opened | 1915[1] |
Renovated | 1971[1] 1999–2000[2] |
Owner | Pomona College |
Height | 17.2 m (56 ft)[citation needed] |
Technical details | |
Material | Stucco[3] |
Design and construction | |
Architect | Myron Hunt[4] |
Other information | |
Seating capacity | 550[5] |
Public transit access | Claremont ![]() |
Website | |
pomona |
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 $2.56 million in 2020) 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]
History[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Bridges_Hall_of_Music_and_Lebus_Court_%28view_of_Bridges_Hall%2C_1916%29%2C_Pomona_College.jpg/220px-Bridges_Hall_of_Music_and_Lebus_Court_%28view_of_Bridges_Hall%2C_1916%29%2C_Pomona_College.jpg)
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 environmental 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[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Bridges_Hall_of_Music_Exterior%2C_Pomona_College.jpg/180px-Bridges_Hall_of_Music_Exterior%2C_Pomona_College.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Johnson_spanish_music_1916_3.jpg/220px-Johnson_spanish_music_1916_3.jpg)
The building takes the form of a basilica, and is built in a modified Spanish Renaissance style, incorporating a number of influences.[1][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.[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.[15]
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 20 short tons (40,000 lb; 18,000 kg).[1][16][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 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[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Allen, David (3 October 2015). "Bridges Hall of Music hits right notes for 100 years". Daily Bulletin. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "2000". Pomona College Timeline. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "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.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Bridges Hall of Music". Pomona College. 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.
- ^ Hunt, Myron (original construction). "Pomona College". Retrieved 22 July 2021. Cite journal requires
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(help) - ^ Jump up to: a b "1915". Pomona College Timeline. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "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.
External links[]
- Pomona College
- Spanish Revival architecture in California
- Concert halls in California
- 1915 establishments in California
- Claremont, California
- Music venues completed in 1915
- School buildings completed in 1915