In August 2018, a fire broke out on the roof of Byrnes Auditorium during construction on the building. Later that month, the auditorium closed for renovations that were projected to be completed by spring 2020. Now, the renovations on the auditorium are only just beginning.
In fall 2018, The Johnsonian reported that the small fire caused minimal damage and was contained on the roof. However, according to chair of the music department Elisa Koehler, the damage, as well as the fire-fighting foam used to extinguish the fire, resulted in insurance litigation that paused work on the building and has only recently been settled.
“[The fire department] used lots of fire foam, and because it was up in the ceiling, it got into the HVAC system. There’s lots of complications, it got inside all sorts of ducts and conduits and things so to remove that, to remediate the fire before the building was even renovated, they had to get the fire foam out first.” Koehler says. “There was some litigation between insurance companies about who was at fault after the fire, so that has slowed things down. The good news is the litigation has been settled and we can now move forward with the cleanup from the fire.”
Koehler says despite the length of the litigation, it is standard in such situations. “The litigation was standard practice,” Koehler says. “This is just how businesses transact whenever there are some liability issues.”
Built in the 1930s as part of the Works Progress Administration, an agency of President Roosevelt’s New Deal, Byrnes requires renovations in order to meet modern building codes. The renovations will also create more accessible seating, updated bathrooms and an improved backstage area. “There’s all sorts of good stuff that we are going to be able to do, but it’s hard to wait. I’m sure students have questions, students have heard things, students are wondering because it belongs to them too.”
Byrnes Auditorium also houses the David Bancroft Johnson Memorial Organ, a valuable antique pipe organ designed specifically for Winthrop by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company in the 1950s. Koehler says that measures have been taken to protect the valuable instrument during the renovations, and the organ did not sustain any smoke damage during the fire. “There is plastic sheeting over the pipes and the organ console, they have built protection around it so nothing happens while they’re working on the ceiling,” Koehler says. “We are looking at sending out parts of the organ to be cleaned, but there is no damage to worry about.”
While the closure of Byrnes is a setback to the music department, it also greatly impacts Winthrop University as a whole, particularly during Convocation. “The university had to scramble to put [Convocation] over in the coliseum because Byrnes was offline. And people chose not to attend because of the distance,” Koehler says.
In the past, Byrnes has hosted a Democratic debate leading up to the 2016 election, as well as the South Carolina All State Chorus. The high school chorus event has historically been held at Winthrop, and has been held in the West Center since the closure of Byrnes. However, the closure could impact the event’s future at Winthrop. “The governing body from that event is actually questioning whether they’re going to keep having it at Winthrop as long as Byrnes is not available,” Koehler says. “To have that taken away because our facility is offline could hurt us, because we don’t know if we’ll be able to get it back.”
While two more years sounds daunting, Koehler says the timeline is not set in stone. “There’s always hope, and we have a lot of good people on it. But when you’re dealing with a historic building, there are layers of approval and many other issues.”
“I think that once Byrnes is renovated it’s going to be better, more beautiful, it’s going to be huge news, it’s going to be a big draw. We’re going to have loads of other events, maybe travelling Broadway companies might come to Rock Hill, that sort of thing, as well as having all of our music events in there and a proper place we can showcase that fabulous pipe organ,” Koehler says. “Look to the future, it’s gonna be great! Right now we just have to be patient and accommodating.”
This is a developing story.
Photo: Tate Walden/ The Johnsonian
