Pomona College is spending $5.2 million on a complete renovation of the Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music, a project which includes the installation of a $1.1 million organ. Known to students as "Little Bridges," the building is part of architect Myron Hunt's original master plan for the college.

The renovation, the first to the building since 1972, is part of the College's long range facilities improvement plan. Construction began slightly ahead of schedule because the alumni-donated organ was slated to arrive in May.

"We didn't want to install the new organ into a building that we were going to completely renovate," said Senior Construction Project Manager John Giboney.

The renovation encompasses all aspects of the building, both interior and exterior. The wooden pews that line the sides of the interior have been repaired and refinished, and are currently locked in off-site storage.

The wooden surfaces of the hall's walls, floor, and ceiling will also be refinished.

Second floor windows will be covered with one-inch-thick acoustical glazing, and will be enabled to open in accordance with the hall's original plan to admit exterior light.

Motorized curtains will be installed to further improve acoustics. Storage areas will be added at the request of the music department.

Improvements are being made to plumbing, electrical, and ventilation systems, and upgrades are also planned for the building's exterior fa�ade and landscaping.

The centerpiece of the renovated hall will be the new organ, a three manual C.B. Fiske design that incorporates 19th century French organ building practices.

Researched by Pomona organist Bill Peterson, the organ is said to have a sound unlike any other at the five colleges. It is hoped that the instrument will provide new musical opportunities for Pomona organists.

"We're all looking forward to hearing the new organ, which will differ both in form and function from the organ that students have been used to seeing in Little Bridges," said President Peter Stanley.

The Fiske organ differs from the hall's previous organ, a four manual Moeller organ, in that the visible parts of the organ will actually be functional. Visible portions of the old organ were merely a facade, with the working parts concealed behind the hall's front wall.

Stanley added, "I think students and other audiences will enjoy seeing an organ that is functioning before their eyes."

Though it will be installed in May, the process of tuning the new organ is expected to last well into next year's fall semester, and estimates indicate that the organ's public debut will come next spring.

The Bridges Hall of Music opened in 1915 and seats up to 600 people on orchestra and balcony levels. Originally open at both its front and rear, it served as a thoroughfare for students walking from South Campus to classes in the early days of the college.

Though perennially popular among students and alumni, the hall fell into disrepair during the late sixties and early seventies, and was nearly torn down in 1972 when it failed to pass inspection for earthquake codes.

"The popularity of the building just wouldn't allow it to be torn down," President Stanley said.� "Students and alumni raised funds in the millions of dollars in an extraordinarily short period of time and the building was saved. It really is the heart and soul of Pomona College."

In recent years, the hall has been used for such diverse functions as gospel, choir, and a capella concerts, as well as orientation programming for first year students and an annual reception and concert during parents' weekend.