Photos from November 2024.
Weigel Hall recently had its face chopped off to build the new Timashev Family Music Building. Before that, it was shortened a bit to construct the Wexner Center. I’m surprised they haven’t just demolished the dang thing already, it’s kind of pitiful in its current state and clashes with Timashev. Currently, Weigel Hall is located on the east side of central campus, sandwiched between the Timashev Family Music Building to the north and west, the Wexner Center to the south, and Mershon Auditorium to the east.
History
Weigel Hall’s main entrance in 1985, looking northeast. This portion is now lost. (Buckeye Stroll)
Weigel Hall was designed in 1976 by Eschliman Associates in the Brutalist style, framed in steel and clad in limestone and concrete. Construction work began in June 1977 by Sherman Smoot and was largely finished that same month in 1979. The 720-seat auditorium had acoustic issues and was fully ready for use in 1981.
As it was originally built, Weigel Hall had 19,815 square feet of space, and it was meant to be an addition to Mershon Auditorium (the two were originally connected). It had practice rooms, rehearsal halls, and studios for music students. It also housed faculty offices for the School of Music.
TBDBITL plays outside of Weigel Hall, undated. (University Archives)
Weigel Hall was first altered in 1985 during the construction of the Wexner Center. Its loading dock had to be relocated, as the latter’s design cut diagonally through the original building’s footprint. Aside from that, John Herrick notes the design “wraps around Mershon Auditorium and Weigel Hall,” so the changes likely were not drastic.
Weigel Hall’s south elevation in 2019 and 2020. (Google Maps)
Most recently, the west facade of Weigel Hall was removed for the construction of the Timashev Family Music Building in 2020. Most of the building still remains, and parts of it are still in use. When I was a member of the Ohio State Symphonic Band in 2022, we had our performances in Weigel Hall’s auditorium, as did the other concert ensembles. Timashev has absorbed most of the original program, like practice rooms, but the School of Music’s main and admissions office are still located inside Weigel Hall.
Eugene Weigel in 1937. (OSU School of Music)
Weigel Hall was named after Eugene Weigel, the second director of The Ohio State University Marching Band from 1929-1938. An Ohio State graduate of the class of 1928, he directed the Cleveland Public Schools’ bands before becoming the director of TBDBITL. He made several important changes that affect the band’s uniqueness today: affiliating with the School of Music as opposed to the Department of Military Science (TBDBITL was the military band when it was founded), changing the band from a traditional ensemble of woodwinds and brass to one that was brass-only, creating the iconic Ramp Entrance with its “drive down the field” and the playing of Buckeye Battle Cry, and most importantly inventing the incomparable Script Ohio. (Although Xichigan’s band technically did a script Ohio formation first, it was not the Script Ohio.) I’ll spare you the full history, but there’s more on the band’s website if you want to look. While he was the director of TBDBITL, he also conducted the Symphony Orchestra and Concert Band. After his tenure as director, Weigel became the chairman of the School of Music in 1940, and its director in 1945, from which he retired in 1959.
Photos
Given Weigel Hall’s current state, this is going to be a very brief one. I’m also kicking myself for not getting photos of the auditorium or odd spaces way in back while I was in the Symphonic Band. When I revisited Weigel this month, I was able to get pretty far inside, but I didn’t want to push my luck.
Weigel and Timashev clash so badly, too. Concrete Brutalism does not work well with brick and glass contemporary designs.
There’s also this very 1980s conversation pit out front:
Heading inside, I found this cool sign about using fall protection equipment:
The green room:
This is the hallway that runs parallel to the auditorium, and it was how we accessed the stage while I was in band:
Heading up to the second floor, I began to become thoroughly creeped out. The ceilings are very low, the interior is rather dated and cramped, and the overall vibe was very unsettling.
The only thing that was sort of placating was the sound of musicians practicing in the rooms. On the third floor, more of the same:
I headed back downstairs and into the catacombs. This area is right behind the stage:
“Right behind you…”
This was once the main hallway of Weigel Hall, right behind the main offices, but now it’s just a passageway to the stage.
Weigel Hall’s future is uncertain. Framework 3.0 doesn’t mention any renovation or demolition, but with the potential renovation of Hughes Hall across the street and its current status, that’s probably not off the table.
Sources:
https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/24059
https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/37314
https://library.osu.edu/site/buckeyestroll/
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