The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-12
AUDITORIUM WORK IS ID BE STARTED
 ON BEFORE SPRING
Committee Returns From h. spection Tour Impressed With Modern Architectural
 Development


 auditorium committee of Bir- mingham to act as consulting architect in the building of the city auditorium which the com mittee expects to start early in the spring.
 The committee, composed of Mrs Houston Davis, Mrs. W. D. smith Hugh Martin and Commissioner Ellis Brown, returned yesterday from Chi- cago and New York, where they have been inspecting auditoriums, theatres and other buildings preparatory to drafting plans for the Birmingham building
 The local chapter Of the American Institute of Architects will have di- rect charge of the work
 In speaking of tine trip from which the committee returned yesterday Commissioner Brown said:
 BROWNS STATEMENT
 "We visited a number of cities on our trip and had consultations with number of architectural specialists.
 We spent several days in Chicago, during which we made a tour of 'n- spection of work and buildings with George L. Rapp of Rapp Rapp. architects Mir Rapp advised us quite freely and showed us with thorough ness his work, both completed and un- der construction. We learned soon after leaving home that there had been very recently, and is now in pro- gress great advancement in the de- velopment and designing of buildings of the character in which we are in terested.
 After leaving Chicago, we spent two days in Cleveland, where we saw five buildings, and obtained a great deal of valuable information. as sew eral of the buildings are just com pleted, and embody the most modern ideas in their line. Among them was the new municipal auditorium not yet completed. We were also fortunate in meeting in Cleveland Thomas w. Lamb, with whom we had an appoint ment at his New York office, but
 
 enabled to show us two of his build- ings of theatre type with seating ca~ pacities between 1000 and 5000 each We spent the remainder of the week visiting auditorium type buildings in New York and Brooklyn.
 Through the courtesy of MT. La n b. we were shown through the new Gaps .itol theatre, New York; which nas a seating capacity of between 5000 and 5000, and also the extremely attrac- tive new Metropolitan building, with auditorium capacity approximately the same as the Capitol.
 Having heard a great deal of the new community building in New York called the Town hall, which includes a very fine auditorium, the committee |spent a very profitable afternoon in> |specting this building. It's beauty and simplicity, as well as it's success of acoustics appealed strongly to us.
 APPROVE MODERN TYPE During the entire trip we were strongly impressed from observa ion and from advice of experienced archt> tects with the advantages of the mod ern theatre type of auditorium, which provides perfect acoustics and allows everyone seated in the entire bull ling
  lstructing a building of proper ara practical size.
 We were advised by those conver- lsant with market conditions that Bir- lmingham is fortunate in starting il e auditorium building at this time, when the greatest value for the amount ex. pended can be obtained. Both Mir Rapp of Chicago and MT. Lamb of New York commented most favorably on the size and location of the site se- l1ected for the auditorium with the great amount of street and park space adjacent, and assured us that outside noise would have no effect on hearing under modern construction. While in New York the committee held number of conferences with Nr La mb probably the foremost archi- Itectural specialist in auditorium and ftheatre construction in the country MT. Lamb at the present time is erect ling sixty two buildings. all of them for auditorium and theatre purposes iaggregating an expenditure of approx imately $S0,000,00 Mr. Lambs extsn. sive organization includes specialists in the various departments of plan , ming designing, heating, ventilation acoustics lighting and stage equip. I tnent and mechanism
 l "The committee made arrang snents ' with MT. Lamb to act as consult:ne larchitect in building the Birmingh lr auditorium. subject to the approval o, | the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, who have di. rect charge of the work, and the ct, commission.