Prairie Meadows provides $100,000 grant to Central College auditorium project
The Prairie Meadows Legacy Grant program has awarded Central College $100,000 toward the continued renovation of Douwstra Auditorium, the college’s historic concert hall. Last year, Central started a $6 million comprehensive renovation of Douwstra, which originally was built in 1939 and was last renovated 40 years ago. The $2.2 million renovation to date has included new seating, a visually striking interior and stage expansion, and other sound, lighting and video improvements. Work still planned includes back-of-house infrastructure improvements, as well as installation of a handcrafted pipe organ. The Prairie Meadows funding will support general expenses for the remaining projects, Central officials said in a press release. The Pella college envisions Douwstra as “a state-of-the-art regional concert hall that will grow performing arts and music programming for all Iowans and serve as a cultural resource to our state.”