From Drab to Dramatic:

Hill Auditorium re-opens to rave reviews.

On Thursday, January 8, Hill Auditorium itself was center stage when President Mary Sue Coleman rededicated it to an audience of 3,000 fans.

Formerly painted one shade of off-white, the main hall now glitters with new gold trim and a soft glow pervades the vaulted space with arches painted in shades of warm grays, blues, blue-grays, green-grays and deep red-browns. Also glowing again are 300 arch lights (see photo) that were painted over some 50 years ago.

In its notice of Hill's transformation, the New York Times said that Hill could be called the “Carnegie Hall of the Midwest.”

Designed by the renowned architect Albert Kahn and dedicated in 1913, Hill has served as the venue for some of the most notable performers of the 20 th century.

After a careful $40 million restoration that included paint analysis, new bathrooms, air conditioning, elevators and a new lounge in the lower level (in addition to non-glamorous repairs of the electrical and heating systems), Hill is poised to continue its fine tradition of providing great performances for the citizens of Ann Arbor.

Its perfect acoustics have been retained and even enhanced. The first concert of its new life was performed on January 17 which also marked the 125th anniversary of the University Musical Society.—By Susan Wineberg, secretary, City of Ann Arbor Historical District Commission, and researcher, U-M Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Read more about the Hill ceremonies at: http://www.umich.edu/news/index.html?Releases/2004/Jan04/r010704a

In Online Michigan Today @ http://www.umich.edu/news/MT/ in our Spring '04 edition, Susan Wineberg will present a photo essay on Hill's architectural history, including the octagon house that was originally on the Hill site and also Hill's design motifs that have been repeated in other campus buildings.