The Helen Haddad Hall renovation project, completed by Force Construction Co. Inc., added the performance and event space to the rear of the 141-year-old Columbus Indiana Philharmonic Administrative Office where a parking lot had been. It also refurbished and updated the exterior and the second and third floors where offices are located. Part of the upstairs work included re-opening long-bricked-up windows to let in more light.

The decision to name it after Haddad was made official after she and husband Bob Haddad, the founder of Columbus Container and also a huge supporter of the Philharmonic and its youth programs, donated $1 million to the effort in 2018. Plus, the couple donated the very building to which the new hall is attached.

The facility features:

• 100-person capacity
• A state-of-the-art sound and lighting system that can be controlled by an iPad
• Herman Miller chairs
• A small kitchen
• A storage area behind the stage for the orchestra’s centerpiece instrument: a world-class Shigeru Kawai Concert Grand Piano donated by Columbus’ Enkei America Inc.
• Cameras linked to a backstage screen that allow performers or speakers to know when it’s time for them to come on-stage
• A small green room and a restroom backstage
• A comfortable lobby space with coat racks