Old Radcliffe Gym Renovated; Agassiz Slated to Open Nov. 9

Workers recently completed a renovation project at the old Radcliffe Gymnasium, making room for new offices and changing a second-floor basketball court to a dance floor.

As part of the same renovation effort, the Agassiz Theater will be remodeled in time for a November 9 Gilbert and Sullivan Society performance of "Pirates of Penzance."

The $2.2 million joint project was financed by the Radcliffe Century Fund and represents an attempt by Radcliffe "to address, in one effort, many of the needs of the College," President Horner said yesterday.

Gym Improvements

Construction on the 83-year-old gym, located in Radcliffe Yard, began last February, when locker and shower areas on the first floor were converted to office space and athletic equipment was cleared from the second floor to make room for a new dance studio. Workers filled in a basement-level pool and converted it to a temperature-controlled vault.

Although the building's exterior has not been changed, chief architect Joan Goody said the project should be though of as a "total renovation."

Work on the Agassiz will actually restore the theater to the way it looked when it opened 60 years ago, Goody said, explaining, "Even the old seats will be taken out, refinished, cushioned and then put back."

There will be some changes, however, including the installation of an intercom system, the addition of space for set construction and increased lighting.

Among the playwrights who have begun their careers at the Agassiz are Phillip Barry and Eugene O'Neill, as well as novelist Thomas Wolfe.