ARCHIVES: THE THIRD FIRE TAKES OUR AUDITORIUM IN 1928

THE THIRD FIRE TAKES OUR AUDITORIUM: December is a month that has not looked kindly on Subiaco in history. While the monks have always had to contend with smaller fires in buildings and on our properties, it was three devastating fires in December that have left the greatest impression in the memory of Subiaco. On December 16, 1901, a fire destroyed the first monastery and most of the wooden buildings that were built on the Ridge at Subiaco. Only the College and a few smaller buildings were saved. Twenty-six years later, on December 20, 1927, a fire destroyed over half of the new monastery. Just when the monks began the arduous task of rebuilding, another fire broke out one year later on December 7, 1928, that took the old college auditorium. The auditorium (sometimes called the Opera House or Opera Theatre) had been built in 1911 in the Italian Barocco style and had miraculously survived the 1927 fire. It was eighty feet by forty feet and featured a high tower on the west front with a staircase to get to the interior gallery. The east front featured a smaller tower that served as an outdoor bandstand. Inside the interior featured the latest "opera chairs" that had hat racks underneath. With both the lower and upper galleries filled, the auditorium could seat 300 persons. Anthony Hall (named after Fr. Anthony Vorster) would be built in 1928 directly west of the auditorium and would serve as our first gymnasium. It would also be used for graduation, basketball games, large meals, and other sports as shown in two photos. The last photo was taken on December 7, 1928, as the auditorium began to burn in our third great fire. Anthony Hall was saved and would survive until 1977 when we would build a new gymnasium at another location that is still in use. Both of the auditorium and Anthony Hall were located on the land that is now occupied by our Performing Arts Center. Our late historian of blessed memory, Fr. Hugh Assenmacher, recounted in his book:  "At the time it [auditorium] was being used as the local parish church. Father Conrad Herda, the pastor, had just left the building shortly before the fire was discovered about 9:30 a.m. He surmised that the furnace caused the fire, or else that the chimney was defective. By 10:30 the fire had been checked so that it would not spread to the gymnasium [Anthony Hall] a few yards away. The auditorium itself could not be saved. The Paris fire department again came to the scene and, upon arrival, laid two 500-foot hoses to a fire plug installed just two days before. This time there was ample water and excellent water pressure. The auditorium was valued at $10,000 but again, only a small insurance policy covered the structure." So, tomorrow we remember the third great fire in our Subiaco history that took our auditorium in 1928… may it never happen again!  SUBIACO ABBEY AND ACADEMY… ONWARD TOGETHER!