NEW ODDFELLOWS’ HALL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume III, Issue 504, 29 November 1881, Page 2

NEW ODDFELLOWS’ HALL.

A meeting of the Oddfellows’ Building Committee was held last night at the Somerset Hotel, for the purpose of selecting a design for the new Oddfellows’ Hall to be erected on the piece of ground lying between Cookson’s stables and the Prince Albert boarding-house. Some time ago the committee invited competitive designs for the proposed building, and some half dozen or more were sent in. The successful plan bears the nomde plume of “ Bene Aucliemus,” but the competitor’s real name we are not at present at liberty to divulge. The new building will be of wood, and capable of seating about 800 persons. On paper it presents a very nice appearance, a big central door being flanked on either side with large windows. In addition to the Hail itself, which, by the way, is furnished with a commodious gallery, there will be a ladies’ drawingroom, gentlemen’s drawing-room, dressingrooms, ticket and other offices, also a com-mittee-room, with a private entrance. Special attention will be paid to the acoustic properties of the building, and the construction of the Hall should render it as nearlyperfect in this respect as possible. Such an advantage cannot be over-esti-mated ; the one great fault of nearly all cur public buildings in this colony being the extreme difficulty experienced in hearing easily what is going on inside them. An attractive stage will form a feature of the building, and will extend from side to side of the Hall—its entire width. In order to make the stage as roomy as possible the dressing rooms will be built not at its sides but underneath it. For concerts, public meetings, and theatrical entertainments, etc., the new Oddfellows’ Hall should be all that can be desired, and indeed some such addition to our public halls is badly needed. We understand that tenders are to be called at once for the work.