World-Class Auditorium Under Construction
The Armstrong International Cultural Foundation is pleased to announce the commencement of
construction on its very own performing arts center to rest in the peaceful northern plains of
Edmond, Oklahoma. The foundation officially broke ground for the building during an outdoor
ceremony held Sunday, January 6, 2008, with record temperatures in the high 70s and with
about 500 in attendance. The $15-million auditorium will rest on the southeast corner
of the Herbert W. Armstrong College campus—near the Bryant Road entrance to the campus.
Click here for an aerial view.
LEGACY
The 800-seat auditorium is patterned after the breathtaking Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena,
Calif. Built in 1974, the Ambassador showcased the greatest performers from all over
the world during the 1970s and '80s—artists such as the Vienna Symphony, Luciano Pavarotti,
Joan Sutherland, Vladimir Horowitz and many other musical legends.
Ambassador's incomparable acoustics and warm, intimate atmosphere earned it the
title of the "Carnegie Hall of the West Coast."
In 1995, Ambassador closed its doors, then in 2004 it was sold to a local church. Many of its priceless artifacts were auctioned off that summer.
From that auction, the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation was able to acquire the 9-foot
Hamburg Steinway grand piano that served the many great pianists to perform at Ambassador. Also,
the foundation purchased a pair of Baccarat crystal candelabra, made from materials used by the
Shah of Iran to celebrate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire.
DESIGN
The new performing arts center—which will house these priceless artifacts from Ambassador—
has been designed by the Oklahoma City-based firm Rees Associates, Inc., also responsible for
designing the Rose State Performing Arts Center in Midwest City.
Also involved in the planning stages of the facility were Ron McKay and Dave Conant of the
acoustical firm McKay Conant Brook in California. McKay was an acoustical engineer for Ambassador
Auditorium during its planning stages. His reputation in the acoustics industry and his
understanding of Ambassador made for invaluable advice for the Foundation.
McKay's colleague, Dave Conant expects Herbert W. Armstrong College's auditorium to exceed
Ambassador's acoustics with a more ideal reverberation time. Additionally, since the
Armstrong auditorium will be smaller in seat count, it will be "more intimate acoustically
and visually" than Ambassador.
Also, the ratio comparing the volume of the room to each seat will be better at Edmond's new
auditorium than Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Boston's Symphony Hall, and Vienna's Musikverein—
the three standards engineers use to compare acoustic quality.
Click here to see the
floor plan for the main level, here
for the floor plan for the balcony, and here for the floor plan for the basement, which includes two large
group dressing rooms. Click here for a cross
section view of the main house seating.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
The foundation hopes to finish the auditorium in late 2009 or early 2010.
A new picture of the contruction site is uploaded each hour. The four most recent are displayed here. To enlarge the pictures you would like
to see, click the thumbnails below.
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