Since the time of the demolition of
Carney Hall, Pittsburg State University has been without a cultural
arts venue. That, after thirty-five years, is about to change.
Groundbreaking has begun on the thirty million dollar Center for the Performing Arts.
When completed, the Center will provide an auditorium capable of seating almost three
thousand people, with an additional recital hall that would double the existing concert
hall space available in the Sharon Kay Dean Recital Hall in the McCray Music Hall.
Theatre presentations will be held in a more performance appropriate venue, and
art majors will have ample facilities for study and exhibits.
In addition, outside performers will be attracted to our new state of the art
facility, providing new cultural opportunities for area residents.
Center for the Arts Groundbreaking at Pittsburg State University
February 1, 2013
Construction 40 years in the making
Performing arts center construction begins
January 19, 2013
PITTSBURG - The ceremonial groundbreaking for the new performing arts center
at Pittsburg State will be Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. But the unofficial groundbreaking has
already taken place...
The decades-old dream of a new arts center on the Pittsburg State
University campus took a giant leap forward on Nov. 30 with the announcement by
university officials that the contract for the construction of the facility has
been awarded to Crossland Construction Co...
Although there's still "a lot of work to do," PSU President Steve
Scott said today that he senses more excitement about the construction of a fine
and performing arts building than he's seen in a long time...
From 1919 to 1980 Carney Hall stood
on the same ground as today's distinctive Heckert-Wells Hall. The building was
named for Thomas Carney under whom the state's higher education system had been
established. When completed in 1919, Carney Hall housed the Departments of Home
Economics, Chemical and Physical Sciences, Biology, and Agriculture. Carney Hall
also served as the cultural and social hub of the University and the community for
many years. Its auditorium, with a seating capacity of about 3,000, hosted numerous
lectures, concerts, and plays. Deterioration and settling of the building's foundation
led to it being vacated in November 1978 and razed in 1980.
