Addams Hall, the new Fine Arts building located on the corner of 36th and Walnut, is now partially open and almost entirely renovated. The facility, which should be fully complete by next spring, will provide extra space for undergraduates taking classes in Fine Arts. Graduate School of Fine Arts Dean Gary Hack explained that the new building will be able to accommodate many more students who have wanted to take Fine Arts classes in the past but were unable to do so due to a lack of space. "We want to welcome every undergraduate at Penn to take classes in the Fine Arts," Hack said. The building was formerly called Skinner Hall and served as the faculty club, which was relocated to the Inn at Penn and has been up and running for the past year. The plan for a new Fine Arts building is not a new one. Charles Addams Hall was originally set to be located at 3317 Chestnut Street, but that building burned down in the spring of 1997 after two years of renovations. Vice President of Facilities Services Omar Blaik explained that funding for the $5.5 million Addams Hall project has been raised through both gifts and school funds over the last several years, since the 1997 fire. The Fine Arts school currently uses facilities in the Morgan Building and the Blauhaus, a small shack-like structure on Hill Field. According to Hack, the interior of the new building is almost complete. However, the three upper floors of the building are not yet in use because the windows must be replaced. This decision was not made until after the renovations began, and the window replacement process will delay use of the top floors until spring. The basement of Addams Hall is currently being used for photography, computer and digital design space. The new building will offer the Fine Arts program twice the amount of facilities than its former space did and will be primarily devoted to undergraduates. The upper levels of the building will accommodate all of the fine arts, including painting, ceramics, clay design, drawing and sculpture. A digital editing room will also be available to students.
Artists receive expanded space with new Fine Arts building
