Bryn Mawr College - Bryn Mawr Yearbook (Bryn Mawr, PA)

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n r f J THE construction of Goodhart Hall was started in 1926, but it took a long time to complete the foundation because of the numerous little springs and hidden brooks that feed a swamp in the field below. The well known opinion of Mr. Herben is that the finished product resembles a com- bination of a Breton Chapel and an English tithe barn. Miss Cornelia Otis Skinner, speaking for the undergraduates of a decade ago, expressed the same sentiment less vehemently: We hoped it would be more theatre, less architecture. Originally the plan was to erect three separate buildings, an audi- torium, practice and class rooms for the music department, and recreational facilities for the students. Up to that time, Miss Park told us, the center of Taylor had been hollowed out and used for commencements and assemblies; Mr. Willoughby and Mr. Alwyne used to have their offices in Wyndham and the back of Miss Ely ' s house; and a dozen wobbly tables put together in the gym served as a stage, while the audience sat around the track and dangled their feet over the edge. The college authorities, even after they realized that these projects could be combined under one roof, continued to think of them as three separate units, and as a result the building is still more or less divided into three sections. For example, to go from the auditorium to the Common Room one must pass either over or under the stage or run around outside. The needs for which the hall was built are fairly well fulfilled, and to all intents and purposes Good- hart is complete, although there is still room for additions and improve- ments, such as better lighting and an organ in the loft.

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One outside speaker was heard to remark as he left the auditorium that he felt as if he had been speaking in the belly of a whale. But to the average observer Goodhart is less engulfing. There are many charming details: the snowflake frieze on the main facade, the wrought-iron lanterns, and the sunken garden by the students ' wing. The Common Room, one of the most comfortable meeting places on campus, is used for informal lectures and teas, and as a gallery for Art Club exhibitions. This year it has been left open over the week-ends for the benefit of those who are entertaining guests, but, as George the porter confided, only two or three couples have used it so far. He expects more in the spring. The News and the Lantern have their office a few doors down the hall, and several rooms are open for the use of other organizations. Their meetings are often interrupted by tuneful snatches from the practice rooms downstairs where sound-proofing is evidently unknown. Sunday evenings chapel is held in the Music Room and hymns are played on a small organ installed for the love of music. Dramatics are still centered on the stage, in spite of two dead spots in the auditorium, because the Theatre Workshop, built last year, is still insufficiently equipped. A member of the stage crew com- plains about the latter that there are no points of suspension. Goodhart is also reserved for formal lectures and assemblies, as well as recitals of well known artists. In spite of its drawbacks, this hall has become an integral part of campus life, and we even forgive its flying buttresses which feebly support its structural steel and concrete foundations. Necessarily George has the last comment. In his own words, It ' s a big building to keep clean.