Pease Auditorium

GeotaggedNational Register

National Register of Historic Places Filing

Local SignificanceArchitectureEducationMusic1900-

Pease Auditorium is significant as the long time center of musical culture for the Eastern Michigan University community and the city of Ypsilanti and as the landmark of the Neo-Classical Revival in Ypsilanti. Eastern Michigan University's Department of Music was established in 1854 with Albert Miller as the first director. Ezra M. Foote replaced Miller in 1858 and, in January, 1864, Frederic H. Pease replaced him. Pease (1839-1909), for whom Pease Auditorium is named, served as professor of music for forty-six years, until his death. The Normal School's Conservatory of Music was established in 1881 and Pease also served as its first director, from 1882 to 1909. Professor Pease, a composer as well as teacher, was best known as the conductor of the Normal Chorus, whose concerts were enjoyed by the Normal School community and Ypsilanti public alike. Frederick Alexander became music director in 1909, following Pease's death, and served for thirty-two years. Under his direction the Normal Chorus continued to grow in stature, sometimes performing with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the popular Men's University Glee Club was established. Pease Auditorium, constructed in 1914-15 as part of a major campus building program, became the home of the Conservatory of Music and the center of musical culture in Ypsilanti. The new structure, first used on April 20, 1915 and dedicated the following June, contained what was then the school's and city's principal auditorium as well as fifteen classrooms for the Conservatory. In addition to chorus and glee club events and recitals, the auditorium played host to the Detroit symphony and to popular bands, such as those of John Philip Sousa and Paul Whiteman. The building continues in regular use today, though it is no longer the largest auditorium in town. Pease Auditorium was designed by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls of Detroit, one of Michigan's most important twentieth-century, architectural firms. H. J. Maxwell Grylls was the managing architect of the $150,000 project. With its lavish terra cotta Neo-Classical facade, Pease Auditorium is the landmark of the Neo-Classical Revival in Ypsilanti. Harvey C. Colburn in his 1923 book, The Story of Ypsilanti, called the structure 'the most impressive piece of architecture in the city.' The auditorium originally seated 1,700 persons, but the capacity was reduced by 100 when a major alteration in 1959 extended the stage over the former orchestra pit and eliminated the first two rows of seats. The primary purpose of the change was to accommodate an eighty-four rank pipe organ, dedicated in honor of Frederick Alexander, who died in 1955, leaving $90,000 in his will for its purchase. The organ was designed by Prof. Erich P. Goldschmidt and constructed by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co. of Boston. The Frederick Alexander Memorial Organ was dedicated October 16, 1960. Swanson Associates of Bloomfield Hills was the architect for the renovation.

Physical Description

Pease Auditorium is a broad-fronted, end-gable-roof, red brick, Neo-Classical Revival structure with cream-color terra cotta detailing, including the main cornice and water table and the facade's columns and pilasters and their capitals, entablature, and door and window surrounds. It is a rectangular structure with projecting wings on each side. The main auditorium portion is roofed by a gable facing the street, while the extensions to sides, front, and rear, are flat-roofed. The west (front) elevation is symmetrically divided into five bays by pilasters and engaged columns of the Corinthian order. The three center bays each contain paired entry doors. Above these are segmental-arch window openings. The columns and pilasters support a deep frieze with dentilled cornice which runs across the building front and returns part way down each side. The remaining elevations of the building are generally unornamented except for simple pilasters which divide the walls into panels. These elevations have terra cotta bases and cornice bands. The interior, little altered over the years, contains three floors. The auditorium itself, located on the main floor behind a broad and shallow lobby, is Neo-Classical Revival in style. It has a sloping floor and a high, coffered ceiling which arches between the side walls. A balcony at the entrance end has a curving front that is supported beneath by square piers with Ionic capitals. The stage area has a semi-circular-front stage and broad, recessed, half-spherical, paneled, rear wall. At the back of the stage is the Alexander Memorial Organ. The auditorium originally seated 1700 persons, but the capacity was reduced by 100 in 1959 when the stage was extended over the former orchestra pit area and the first two rows of seats were eliminated. The basement contains a classroom, restrooms, and a green room. The second-floor area in front above the lobby and the projecting wings on either side contain classrooms, offices, and balcony entrances.

Architect/Builder

Smith, Hinchman & Grylls; H. J. Maxwell Grylls

NRHP Ref# 84000018 • Data from National Park Service • Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0

Historic Photos

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Sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing

Pease Auditorium — Pease Auditorium — 2320 Bee Ridge Rd, 1914 Smith, Hinchman & Grylls; H. J. Maxwell Grylls, National Register of Historic Places filing, College Pl., Ypsilanti, Detroit

Public Domain (Michigan Filing)

From Wikipedia

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Pease Auditorium is a concert hall on the campus of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The auditorium was dedicated in 1915 in memory of music professor Frederic H. Pease, at the institution then known as the Michigan State Normal College, and is the fourth-oldest building on the EMU campus. Pease Auditorium is in the Neoclassical Revival architectural style, and was designed by the Detroit-based firm Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls. The auditorium's 1500-seat capacity and excellent acoustics contribute to its reputation as a premier music venue, presenting the performances of the Eastern Michigan University Department of Music and Dance. Pease Auditorium was built to accommodate a large pipe organ, but no such organ was fitted when the auditorium opened. An 81-rank Aeolian-Skinner organ was installed in the early 1960s, and was fully restored in the late 1990s. Pease Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, and a major renovation and addition program concluded in 2001.

History In the early 20th century, the Michigan State Normal College was thriving. The institution that would become Eastern Michigan University was founded as the Michigan State Normal School in 1849, and became the Michigan State Normal College in 1899 with the introduction of four-year academic programs. With the growth of the institution, the Conservatory of Music's quarters in the former Training School building were becoming cramped. Two successive university presidents advocated for the construction of an auditorium, and the necessary funds were raised during the term of Charles McKenny. Pease Auditorium was constructed at a cost of $159,000, equivalent to $3.6 million in 2024.

The auditorium was initially planned to be named after John D. Pierce, the first Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction. Ypsilanti residents objected during the construction, and petitioned to change the building's namesake to music professor Frederic H. Pease, who died suddenly in 1909. This effort was successful, and the auditorium was dedicated as Pease Auditorium on June 22, 1915. Pease Auditorium featured the latest technologies in construction, ventilation, and lighting at its opening. The auditorium was constructed of fireproof concrete and steel, and was fitted with a ventilation system capable of providing entirely new fresh air every ten minutes. The building was fitted with 400 electric lights, designed to provide diffuse light that emulated daylight. The original plans of the auditorium were drawn to accommodate a large pipe organ, but budget restrictions required the removal of the organ itself from the project. Frederick Alexander, successor to Pease as head of the Conservatory of Music, made it his mission to install a grand organ in Pease Auditorium. Alexander left $90,000 (equivalent to $820,000 in 2024) in his will to fund it, and plans for the organ began after Alexander's death in 1955. The first performance on the new Aeolian-Skinner organ was given in October 1960, after a year of tuning by music professor Erich Goldsmith. The stage was expanded to account for the size of the organ, removing 100 seats.

Pease Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, but was also falling into disrepair. By 1990, the auditorium was unusable due to its deterioration. The university launched a major fundraising campaign to repair and expand Pease, taking advantage of federal grants and private donations. Major repairs were done to the interior and exterior of Pease, and the backstage area of the auditorium was expanded to include a green room for performers. Elevators and ramps were added for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the seating capacity was reduced slightly to 1541. The $5.7 million ($11.1 million in 2024) renovation program concluded in 1995, with a reopening performance featuring Branford Marsalis. The organ was disassembled and removed with the start of the renovation program, and refurbished over the course of several years. The reinstallation was complete in early 2001, and the Frederick Alexander Memorial Organ was rededicated in performance in April 2001.

Namesake

Pease Auditorium is named for longtime music professor Frederic H. Pease (1839-1909), Professor of Music at the Michigan State Normal School. Pease was the son of Ruth H. Crocker and Peter Pindar Pease, both early settlers of Oberlin, Ohio and contributors to the founding of Oberlin College. Frederic Pease studied under Professor E. M. Foote of Oberlin and traveled the Midwest, settling in Ypsilanti in 1859 to teach piano. Pease met Josephine Antoinette Dolsen, a student of music at the Normal College, that year, and they were married in November. Frederic Pease was appointed director of the Conservatory of Music at the Normal School in 1863, a position that he held until his death. Pease founded the Ypsilanti Musical Union, regularly played church organs in Jackson and Detroit, composed music, and wrote textbooks for music teachers throughout his career. The Ypsilanti Musical Union grew rapidly from its founding in 1870, and proved so popular that the Ypsilanti Opera House was constructed for it in 1880.

Josephine A. Dolsen Pease died in childbirth in 1877, at the age of 37. Frederic Pease died of sudden heart failure on March 22, 1909, at his house on South Summit Street. After Josephine's death, Frederic commissioned a stained glass window in her memory at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in downtown Ypsilanti, where he was a distinguished member. The windows were later placed in storage, and were restored and installed in Pease Auditorium in 2015.

References

Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0