Callaway Auditorium
801 Dallis St,
Lagrange, GA 30240
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The road to a new Callaway Auditorium began in 2003 when the College and Callaway Foundation, Inc., representatives announced a plan to renovate the LaGrange landmark.

Built in 1941, the facility long served as a multipurpose venue for area events. College alumni reminisce about performing May pole dances and gymnastic routines on the stage. Community members recall children's recitals and athletic contests.

"People who had seen the building before were just amazed," Toni Anderson says. "They couldn't believe they were inside the same structure."  They had plenty of reasons to be surprised. Visitors saw 700 new armchair seats rising from a gradually sloped auditorium floor, box seats, a stage extended by 20 feet and adorned with floor-toceiling maple panels, and new curved walls and ceilings, among other changes. "It's just a magnificent transformation," Anderson declares.

"No matter where you sit, the sound is clear," proclaims Anthony Shou of Kirkegaard Associates. "In the past, this hasn't been a venue that has attracted the community for performances because of its sound quality. Now, it's likely that it will." To help the room please the ear, the designers incorporated new side walls that curve outward from the stage, curved panels and ceilings above the stage, extremely thick walls surrounding the stage area, a new hard ceiling above the audience with a gentle curve, and a heating and air conditioning system that is extremely quiet.

The hall also can be customized for different types of performances thanks to acoustic curtains on the side and rear walls that can be deployed or retracted, depending upon the sound environment desired. "This project came together really fast, really well," says Shou. "What helps is to have the right people together from the beginning."

• Home of the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra
• 740 armchair seats and 32 box seats
• Acoustical shell formed by curved walls and ceilings
• Theatrical lighting
• Acoustical curtains that can be deployed or retracted
• 2 dressing rooms
• Concession and ticket area
• A lobby that preserves familiar features from the original building
• Ample parking convenient to the hall
• Modern restrooms

View the calendar to find performances at Callaway Auditorium