OpenStreetMap (new tab)

Google Map (new tab)

Overview

Noted San Francisco architect Gardner Acton Dailey (1895-1967) designed this University of California, Berkeley (UCB), music building, completed in 1958. Dailey also designed the adjoining Hertz Memorial Hall of Music, opened simultaneously. An alumna of the Class of 1878, May T. Morrison, bequeathed the funds to build the hall, and also provided for money to establish the Alexander F. Morrison Library Reading Room within Doe Library in 1928. May Morrison's generosity also extended to leaving funds in the M. T. Morrison Trust Estate for two student scholarships.

Building History

Gardner Dailey's firm, Gardner A. Dailey and Associates, designed and supervised construction of Morrison Hall for the Department of Music and the adjoining Hertz Memorial Hall of Music in 1957-1958. The two cost a combined $1,758,000, of which $200,000 came from Alfred Hertz, former Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and and an unspecified gift from May T. Morrison, a loyal benefactor of the UCB. Additional funds were supplied by the State of CA at a time when it had large amounts of money to spend on education. Both Hertz and Morrison Halls were constructed of reinforced concrete for seismic strength.

Both Morrison and Hertz Halls shared a common aesthetic; each featured gable roofs covered in tile, paired rafter tails, stucco wall surfaces and the a muted aesthetic, free of ornamentation. This simplicity and modesty was typical of the work of Dailey and his leading contemporary, the UCB Dean of Architecture, William W. Wurster (1895-1973).

Building Notes

A festival named for May T. Morrison, celebrating the dedication of the May T. Morrison Hall, Alfred Hertz Memorial Hall of Music, Edmond O'Neill Memorial Organ, and Ansley Salz Collection of Instruments, was presented by the UCB Department of Music, between 04/14/1958 and 05/23/1958.

Alteration

A renovation to Morrison Hall's second floor occurred in 2014. The Jean Gray Hargrove Music Library vacated space on the second floor c. 2004 (moving to a new library space). Due to funding limitations, the Department of Music replan the former library space until c. 2012. According to a Department of Music web site posted in 12/2014: "So far, the work has focused on dividing up the space into new teaching, rehearsal, office, and storage areas. Soon the four new teaching spaces will feature state-of-the-art audio-visual capabilities. We now have three rooms that are focused on ethnomusicology: a “soft instrument room”, the gamelan room, and a room that can accommodate drumming and other, louder instruments. Other than the gamelan room, these rooms will be multi-use. We are only beginning to discover the possibilities! Of major benefit is a new ensemble rehearsal room. This will house groups such as the conducting classes, the Chamber Orchestra, the Eco Ensemble and also multiple other uses. In addition we have a new choral office, a new rehearsal studio, a new choral library, a new faculty office and a new office for lecturers and emeriti."

The web site also indicated that further work would begin in late 12/2014: "Phase 3 will begin as soon as classes end this semester. This phase will include: replacing the existing wall along the top of the stairway with an updated, fire-resistant wall; upgrading the existing bathrooms in the basement to meet current code requirements, and finishing up on details that are still outstanding." (See UCB, Department of Music, "Morrison Hall: Watch This Space," accessed 06/16/2016.) Funding for these 2012-2014 renovations came from three sources: Eugene E. Andersen donated funds in the memory of his wife Roxy Andersen, the UCB Capital Bank and Anthony J. Cascardi, UCB Dean of Arts and Humanities.

PCAD id: 713