Members of the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation, donors, and local dignitaries including City Council members were beaming with pride on Tuesday, Nov. 12 as they participated in a beam-signing ceremony to mark the completion of the first phase in the construction of Witte Hall. The beam will “top off” the steel superstructure and be lifted into place in early December.
Witte Hall will be a 399-seat state of the art civic auditorium adjacent to the Newport Beach Public Library and the Newport Beach Civic Center. It is named for a lead gift from William Witte and Keiko Sakamoto.
Witte Hall is the manifestation of a 10-year vision designed to transform the quality and character of programs and events presented by the Newport Beach Public Library and other civic and community organizations. The city’s Recreation and Senior Services Department will manage Witte Hall.
“This is not just four walls and some seats, it’s a place to be bold and for mighty forces to come to our city,” city councilmember Robyn Grant told those gathered for the ceremony. “Authors, musicians, actors, dancers, creatives of all types, will share their talents with our community.”
Grant then quoted the final words of author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “More light, more light, open the windows so that more light can come in.”
“Those words apply here at this spot in our city, as we build a home for more light, more light,” said Grant.
“I want to thank everyone here, particularly the Foundation—it was their vision that Keiko and I responded to, and that vision is really important,” said Witte after he was introduced. “I want to thank the council members for getting us to this point, they have embraced the vision. My father came from the Bronx and moved here in the 1970s. He passed away 27 years ago, so we started the speaker series. When the Foundation presented the vision of the lecture hall, I realized any number of things could use this lecture hall. I look forward to having people competing to use this place. This can be a special thing for the city.”
After the speeches concluded, members of the city council, donors and other VIPs signed the beam.
After the ceremony concluded, Grant told the NB Indy what Witte Hall will mean for the city of Newport Beach.
“We are a city of vast resources and an incredible infrastructure, we have amenities like the harbor and the beach, we have a world-class library system, but the one thing we have been missing is a community meeting space,” explained Grant, who has helped shepherd the project over the last 10 years as both an Arts Commissioner and a member of the Library board as well as a city councilmember. The vision of the Witte Hall started long ago, and now years later this is the last jewel in our crown to complete our robust set of resources and amenities and infrastructure. Bill Witte said it very well—this is a place where people will gather and something the community can be proud of and will provide access to everyone. It will be a community gathering place, for us and for generations and come.”
For more information, visit www.nbplf.foundation/Witte-hall.
