A year after the US Dublin Embassy was built (1964) Clowes Memorial Hall and Opera House in Indianapolis, Indiana, was completed. A multipurpose hall accommodating grand opera, chamber, and symphony orchestra, it was literally a "building within a building."

Lofty vertical walls formed an inner building, the hall, which was surrounded by an outer structure composed of stage tower, lounges, lobby, and prominent stair towers. Somewhat Gothic in appearance with its surfaces of "shot-sawn" Indiana limestone, it took its place respectfully on the neo-Gothic campus of Butler University.

Evans Woollen III, of Indianapolis, Illinois, was my indispensable associate on the project and should be given much credit for its success.

Architectural Forum (1963) stated:  “From mysterious side lobbies to a many-leveled grand foyer, Indianapolis's Clowes Hall makes high drama out of theatergoing.

This favorable comment was particularly gratifying to me, as in the design of three theaters - Clowes, Mechanic,

SYMBOLISM           PHILOSOPHY           RESIDENTIAL DESIGNS  -  MAJOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS           EXPERIMENTAL           THEORETICAL          OTHER WORKS          BOOKS & DVDS          SITE MAP          CONTACT

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SYMBOLISM           PHILOSOPHY           RESIDENTIAL DESIGNS  -  MAJOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS           EXPERIMENTAL           THEORETICAL          OTHER WORKS          BOOKS & DVDS          SITE MAP          CONTACT

HOME          CHRONOLOGY          ABOUT THE ARCHITECT          CHILDHOOD          EDUCATION          EARLY WORKS          ARCHITECTURE          NANOARCHITECTURE          TEACHING POSITIONS          AWARDS

OCTOBER 2013 NEWS - Clowes Memorial Hall Celebrates 50 years!

http://www.nuvo.net/indianapolis/clowes-memorial-hall-celebrates-50-years/Content?oid=2702100#.U0hG7uZdWdw

and Mummers - I was seriously intent upon bringing the audience, in the process of arrival, mingling,  and seating themselves, into a building in which they share with the professional players, as it were, a larger drama.      - John M Johansen, FAIA