Bushnell Performing Arts Center to host 7th Degree
By Todd Gelineau, National Hosting Committee
JUNE 2008 --
The National Grange Hosting Committee is pleased to announce the selection of Horace Bushnell Memorial Hall as the site for the conferral of the 7th Degree at the 142nd Annual Convention of the National Grange in November.
Opened on January 13, 1930, the Hall was built by Dotha Bushnell Hillyer as a “living memorial” to her father, the Reverend Dr. Horace Bushnell, an esteemed Hartford minister, theologian, philosopher and civic leader.
Designed by the renowned architectural firm of Corbett, Harrison and MacMurray, designers of New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, the Bushnell vividly contrasts a traditional Georgian Revivial exterior with a rich Art Deco interior. Drama, the largest hand-painted ceiling mural of its type in the U.S., is suspended from the ceiling of the Mortensen Hall.
The Bushnell is located on on Capitol Ave. in Hartford, just across the street from the historic State Capitol and the scenic Bushnell Park and its 1914 Carousel.
This theater has a long history with the National Grange as the 1934 and 1972 Degree conferrals were held in Mortensen Hall. (Note: The 1907 National Convention was held in Connecticut, but we believe the Degree Conferral was held in New Haven. Our State Historian is researching this “Lost” convention and hopes to include some interesting information about it in an upcoming issue).
The Committee is also pleased to announce an approximate profit of $1,200 from the Roast Beef Dinner held at Cheshire Grange Hall on May 18. Thanks go to all members who worked at the dinner, sold tickets and came to eat. We also thank Betty Jane Gardiner, Joanne Cipriano and their helpers for coordinating the craft sale upstairs during the dinner which contributed nicely to the overall profit.
It is also important to thank Cheshire Grange #23 for their support by providing their beautiful hall and so many willing workers. Next up... the National Hosting Raffle Drawing at Good Will Grange Hall on Grange Sunday, June 8th.
