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 THE
LCAA
In 1963, the Lane County Auditorium Association (LCAA) was formed. The LCAA expanded on an earlier organization plan for a civic center. In 1978, the LCAA recommended to the city council that a general obligation bill be put on the June ballot seeking approval for $18.5 million. The civic center was built by a New York firm by the name of Hardy Holzmen Pfeiffer associates. Pfeiffer believed that the civic center would be key in shaping the future of performing art centers across the country.
THE
LOBBY
Eleven playful frogs greet theater visitors near the sixth street entrance with their "whimsical expressions". Inside the lobby one hundred-foot free standing beams tower over all that enter the civic center. Ceramic masks, bronze sculptures, walnut railing, and fused stain glass windows at the ticket both delight the people of Lane County as they pass through.
THE
SILVA AND SORENG HALL
Silva Hall The Silva Hall has 2500 seats and no seat is more than ninety-two feet from the stage. Later the large hall was named in honor of the late Julio and Elizabeth Silva. Hovering ninety feet in the air an awe inspiring basket weave ceiling graces the Silva Hall with it magnificence. Soaring forty feet above the seats and sixty feet wide, the curtain of the Silva theater awes those who enter those walls. Opaque silver lined clouds float around with crystal discs, suggesting the rain that falls over fourteen foot tall Oregon Blackberry vines, silk-screened on undyed velour. All kinds of performances were taken into consideration when the stage and backstage areas were built. Anything from plays to musicals, from concerts to operas could be accommodated in the large area. Another of the keys to the civic center's success is the resonance sound system. The Silva hall has ninety microphones that hang above the first catwalk. Sounds are transmitted from the microphones to a computer controlled consul, where the sound is filtered, adjusted and amplified. Then it is sent to ninety speakers hanging above the catwalk farthest from the stage.  The small hall, now the Soreng Hall has 500 seats and was dedicated to John and Betty Soreng who donated $750,000 to the civic center.
Thurston High School PROJECT BY Daniel Simonson The Hult Center: Sources: "The Hult Center from dreams to reality","The Hult Center" Brocure. |
