Fine Arts – UGA 60 (1941, Category 2). Across the street from the Park Hall annex at the southeast corner of Baldwin and South Lumpkin streets stands the Fine Arts Building, which houses the School of Music and Department of Drama. The Classical building includes a theater that seats 750 and is used for plays, concerts, and other cultural events. Historically, the Fine Arts Building was designed to house the University’s drama, music, dance, and visual arts programs and featured a new, state-of-the-art auditorium and theater.
Fine Arts features a Beaux-Arts configuration and design presence that is consistent with Park, LeConte, and Baldwin Halls. Construction of the Fine Arts Building was begun in 1939 and completed in 1941. The building was designed by architects Tucker and Howell of Atlanta and planned and supervised by UGA faculty engineer Robert Driftmier, his colleague, architect Roy Hitchcock, and their staffs. The Fine Arts Building was the last project constructed at the University with PWA funding.
The Fine Arts Building is a classically designed two-story brick building that is T-shaped in plan. The central mass of the building has a Classical gable roof form oriented north-south with a limestone portico. The central mass is reminiscent of the Greek Revival Chapel and Waddel Hall on North Campus. Two-story classroom wings to the east and west of the central mass are simple rectangular brick forms with gable roofs oriented east-west, perpendicular to the central structure. The wings have limestone sills, thin limestone belt courses at the first floor level, and simple limestone cornices.
The Fine Arts Building is important for its architecture design and for its association with New Deal projects at the University in the mid-1930s and early- 1940s. It retains integrity and appears to contribute to a National Register-eligible historic district. It is assessed as a Category 2 resource.
