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Greetings!
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We are excited to announce a $500,000 gift from Carol Odess. This gift is the largest single contribution that we have received in our organization's history. It will be used to fuel the restoration of historic Richard H. Allen Hall. Built in 1911, Allen Hall has served a variety of uses, including as an auditorium, a meeting place for religious services, a gymnasium and a classroom building. It was under threat of demolition in the 1990s, and in 1999, it was listed as one of the eleven most endangered historic places in America. It was designated a national historic landmark in 2001 and is now a focal point of campus revitalization efforts.
Thanks to both Carol Odess and to the many volunteers who have contributed to the restoration of this historic building, Allen Hall is well on its way to reclaiming its glory as centerpiece of the Sheldon Jackson Campus. Read on to learn more about the story behind Carol's gift and the historical significance of Allen Hall.
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I sat down to lunch with Carol Odess with a couple of clear questions in mind. The foremost being, what compels one to donate $500,000 to anything? The second, seemingly more straightforward, what was this Alabaman native doing in Southeast Alaska? As it turned out, the narrative behind the second question seemed the best answer for the first.
Carol first came to Baranof Island in the summer of 2003, after her husband had fallen ill with lung cancer. Avid fly fishermen, they wanted to make one more trip together but were not sure how this would be possible given his health. Then, they were referred to Baranof Wilderness Lodge. Carol was so impressed by how well they accommodated her husband and knew that it was a place she would feel comfortable coming back to on her own.
In 2006, Carol returned to Baranof Island, and she has continued to come back every year since. She began spending more and more time here to not only fish, but to enjoy the town of Sitka itself. She learned of the work going on at the Sheldon Jackson Campus and how the community had rallied behind efforts to revitalize the beautiful buildings. Carol contacted Director Roger Schmidt about contributing to this effort herself. She decided to give a gift of $500,000 to the restoration of Richard H. Allen Memorial Hall.
Carol's husband strongly believed in philanthropy. Most of their contributions have gone to their hometown of Birmingham or to his alma mater of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, but she has come to regard Sitka as a "second home." This gift was not out of her husband's charitable foundations, but given from her own heart. However, she emphasizes that it was what her husband believed in that makes this gift possible. In particular, she believes that her husband would approve of this gift because his donations were guided by the philosophy of "let's help the most people we can." She said, "I think he'd be pleased. Look at the Fine Arts Camp. How many more people are you going to touch?" This summer, over 700 students attended the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, with participants from 72 Alaskan communities and from 22 states.
Carol would like to see the community use Allen Hall for a variety of purposes, from weddings to fundraisers. She is excited for its potential as a theater, but commented that the community already has a beautiful performing art center at Sitka High School. Allen Hall is intended as a distinctly different venue. It has already served as a focal point for many of the events hosted on the Sheldon Jackson Campus this summer, including the first ever Sitka TEDx, the Sitka Seafood Festival, and nightly performances during the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. Future plans for the building, in addition to its summer use, include using it for community and children's theater programs and dance classes.
Carol is looking forward to seeing everything come together and hopes that the restoration of Sheldon Jackson Campus will continue to be a community effort. She said, "Community spirit is what makes me love Sitka, and I do not want this gift to stop the volunteer work. This gift is for what volunteer work alone cannot do. When I get back, I'll be there to sweep the floor or wash the windows." The theater space within the Richard H. Allen Memorial Hall will be named the Odess Theater in Carol and her husband's honor.
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SFAC Welcomes New Staff Member Terri McGuire
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We would like to give a shout out to Terri McGuire, recently hired as SFAC's office assistant. Terri and her family have been amazing volunteers and all of her children have attended Camp. It is our pleasure to welcome her into her new role on the team.
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Afterschool Fine Arts Classes Have Begun!
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On Monday we kicked off our first week of Art! at the Sitka Fine Arts Campus, our new afterschool fine arts program.
Have a student you would like to sign up? There is still space in several of our classes. Call or stop by the SFAC office between 9-5 Mon-Fri.
Classes are offered for all ages (including a couple for adults!). Please click here for more information regarding class schedule and registration.
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Or checks to Alaska Arts SE
PO Box 3086, Sitka, AK 99835
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Historical Significance of Allen Hall - Guest Piece by Kate Lund and Kenley Jackson
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Sheldon Jackson College is the only formally planned campus in Alaska and the Richard H. Allen Memorial Hall is the historic quad's centerpiece. Commissioned by the Presbyterian Board of Missions in 1911, Allen was planned by Ludlow & Peabody, a New York firm whose other projects include the New York Times building in Times Square, the 45 story Chase Tower, numerous college buildings, and "a daring and original scheme" for the Brooklyn Civic Center. Indeed Allen Hall was an architectural innovation in the golden age when buildings were their own carefully crafted works of art and engineering. The floors and interior walls are suspended from the roof by a massive truss system, rather than supported by the building's foundation. The architects were instructed to design a building that would look out onto Sitka Sound and though they never visited the site, the building is a marvel of carefully planned details to maximize the beautiful view and lighting. The building was named for the late Richard Allen of Chatham, New Jersey, whose wife was involved with the Board of Home Missions.
Allen's architectural style is English Tudor characterized by a distinctive cupola, shingle siding, sculptured rafter ends, and decorated brackets and dentils (blocks resembling teeth.) Originally built as a gym, the bottom floor of the building was used for basketball games, as an auditorium, multipurpose room, and spiritual gathering place. In the 1970s, Allen Hall was the site of performances during the inaugural years of the Sitka Summer Music Festival and the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. It has hosted everything from roller-skating to a production of the HMS Pinafore in its century of use. Classrooms were housed on the second floor and the original construction included two rooms partitioned by a movable chalkboard controlled by a complex system of pulleys and counterweights.
In 1994, the college's trustees announced their plans to demolish the deteriorating auditorium but community support rallied to keep it standing. The committee known as the Allen Memorial Preservation Project, a nonprofit incorporated in 1996, was a huge part of this effort. In 1999, Allen was named one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In the early 2000s grants from the Allen, Getty, and Rasmuson Foundations helped to renovate and expand the building, with an annex including a lobby, elevator, and modern restrooms. The work was never completed before the college's closure in 2007. In the fall of 2011, volunteers working side by side with professionals began the transformation from historic skeleton to working facility. The downstairs auditorium has been transformed into a rustic, but useable performance space, the classrooms upstairs are now elegant dance studios, the elevator was installed - thanks to many generous contributions - and the first set of modern bathrooms completed the standards for occupancy. This summer marked the first time the building has been open to the public in over twenty years.
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Thanks for the ongoing support,
Chelsea Andreozzi, Program Administrator
Laura Schmidt and Wendy Alderson, Volunteer Coordinators
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