The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1876-03-09
Public Halls,

; DIR. Holland makes the following sug-
gestions in an article on Public Halls"
in Scribner for March:
In view of the fact that certain per-
centage of the great number of public
halls that have been built have imper-
feet acoustic qualities, and the further
fact that new halls are being put up in
various parts of the country every year,
it would seem desirable that some one
who has had o good deal of experience
with halls should tell what he has learned
about them. The writer of this has
probably spoken in five hundred differ
ent audience-rooms, and he has never
spoken in one that had an echo, or was
difficult to speak in. which was amphi-
theatrical in form, or semi-circular in
finish. The hard halls, the echoing
halls, the halls with "bad places in
them, are always rectangular, SO far as
he has observed. A rectangular hall
may be absolutely perfect, as the old
Corinthian Hall in Rochester is remem-
bered to have been; but there seems to
be law of proportion relating to rect
angular halls which is not understood by
builders. There may be bad halls with
the semii-circular finish opposite to the
stage or rostrum, but we have never seen
one.
A great many blunders are made in
lighting halls. Especially is this the
case when the stage of the theater is
made to serve as the rostrum of the
lecturer. No audience can sit comforta-
bly, and look at light. Yeta lecturers
! face should always be well lighted, and
no lecturer can bear foot-lights blazing
between him and his audience. The
lighting should always be from above
and from the side. a central chandelier
above, and just in front of the stage, and
bracket of lights at either wing, will
light lecturers face sufficiently, and, if
he reads, his manuscript. A hooded
not more than five inches high, which
neither he nor his audience can see, will
do good service when other favorable
conditions and provisions are wanting.
The more diffused light there is in hall
the better. The angel Gabriel could not
speak effectively where he could neither
see his audience nor be distinctly seen
by it. Light seems to be the medium of
communication of magnetism and SYM
pathy between the entertainer and the
entertained. Too much vacant space
should never be behind a speaker. A
man is often heard very easily in front
of the curtain, who finds it difficult to fill
the hall when the curtain is up and the
stage open fifteen or twenty feet behind
him.
There were formerly halls which had
the rostrum between the two doors of en-,
trance. This mistake, for various rea-
sons, is sometimes made at this day but
it is fatal one. No man should enter 9
hall in the face of an audience, especial
ly in place where " reserved seats" are
sold; for of all the unmitigated nuis
ances in society ,heis the worst who fanciel
that he buys, with a reserved seat, the
right to enter and disturb an audience
/ at any time in the evening. All noise at
or near, the door of entrance should bt
as far as possible from the speaker, the
singer and the actor. And as we have
introduced the matter of reserved seats
we may as well go farther and say thai
no reserved seat should ever be sold tha
carries any right beyond the minut.
when performance is announced to be.
:, gin. The difficulties of hearing in hal
| grow more out of the disturbances mad,
BY late comers than from acoustic defect
in the halls of audience.