Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center, Performing arts center at Brigham Young University in Provo, United States.
The Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center was a modernist building at Brigham Young University, designed by William Pereira and opened in 1964. It had a multi-floor open atrium used as an exhibition gallery and for occasional concerts, and four open entrance patios that brought natural light into its wings. It was demolished in early 2023.
The building opened in 1964 when architect William Pereira designed it in the modernist style with an emphasis on open interior space. The central atrium was conceived from the start as a flexible venue for exhibitions and performances.
The building's name honors Franklin S. Harris, a former BYU president. Its de Jong Concert Hall was named for Gerrit de Jong Jr., the first dean of the College of Fine Arts, and the Madsen Recital Hall for Franklin and Florence Jepperson Madsen. The Larsen Art Gallery, a three-level space, doubled as the lobby for the main theatres and occasionally hosted dances.
The building no longer stands: it was demolished in early 2023, so there is nothing to tour on the site south of the Museum of Art. Non-musical programs moved temporarily into renovated space at the former Provo High School, now the West Campus Central Building. The Museum of Art just north of the former site remains open.
The de Jong Concert Hall, seating 1,269, was designed by Harvey Fletcher, whose acoustics research there was published by the Audio Engineering Society. The building's seven pipe organs ranked among Utah's most notable, the oldest dating to 1970 and largely rebuilt. The Madsen Recital Hall hosted the 2005 Primrose International Viola Competition.
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