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Menlo School opens arts, design center

Menlo School in Atherton has opened a 40,000-square-foot Creative Arts and Design Center for the teaching of art, music, drama, photography and movie-making.

The two-story center, which opened Aug. 24, has 14 teaching spaces for the creative arts, said school spokesperson Jill Kasser. These activities were formerly housed in the oldest buildings on the campus of this private, college preparatory school founded in 1915, she said.

The areas of the new center where students circulate are designed to showcase student work in the visual and performing arts, she said. On the ground floor is a central gallery, plus a studio and a ceramics classroom. The building has three vaulted ceiling music rooms designed for acoustics, with practice rooms and a vocal teaching studio.

On the second floor is a drama room, a digital design center, a yearbook/journalism room, a recording studio, faculty office space, a conference room, and a photography studio, plus a classroom and darkroom complex. The full basement has space for set storage, mechanical systems, and a computer server room, she said.

Outdoors, there is a studio and teaching patio.

The opening of the center, she said, was also a time to celebrate the school's surpassing its $55 million capital-campaign goal and the funding of the Athletic Center (opened two years ago) as well as the Creative Arts and Design Center. The capital campaign also funded infrastructure improvements and added to the school's endowment, she said.

"The opening of the CADC demonstrates Menlo's passion for all aspects of education and Menlo's recognition of the importance of the arts," said Susan Ford Dorsey, chair of Menlo School's Board of Trustees. "We are thankful to our many generous donors for making it possible."