The next time you walk into the Great Hall, you’ll see something new.
It’s not as dramatic as the reveal after the capital renovation back in 2019, but it’s still incredibly meaningful. When you get to the top of each staircase entering the Great Hall, look to your left or right, along the wall. You’ll see two portraits to mark two newly named spaces: the Wier Harman Great Hall Stage and the David Brewster Oculus.
The naming of these spaces honors two people whose vision and leadership made Town Hall Seattle what it is today.
David Brewster dreamed of Town Hall more than 30 years ago: a cultural gathering place rooted in curiosity, conversation, and the belief that ideas should be shared widely. That dream became a home for nonprofits, writers, musicians, activists, scientists, neighbors, and audiences from across Seattle and beyond.
Wier Harman carried that dream forward for nearly two decades, nurturing Town Hall as a beloved institution and helping lead it through one of the most ambitious chapters in its history: the renovation of our historic home.
Many of you know the story of that renovation. What began as a $25 million project grew to $35.5 million over the course of 18 months. There was an oil tank under the oil tank we already knew about. There was asbestos in places we didn’t expect. Crown molding took months to rehang. Every single piece of stained glass came out of the windows.
As the final act of that campaign, Town Hall took on a $2.5 million loan to complete the renovation and reopen the building. We always intended to repay that loan after welcoming the community back through our doors in September 2019, but history had other plans. Six months later, in March of 2020, Town Hall closed its doors again.
Last year, we returned our attention to the remaining loan. And because of the extraordinary generosity of longtime friends, original lenders, donors, board members, and champions of Town Hall, we were able to retire the full $2.5 million in just eleven months. The retirement of the loan closes the chapter on the renovation, and we knew we wanted to honor two leaders who made so much of this place possible.
The names Wier Harman Great Hall Stage and David Brewster Oculus are more than markers in a building. They are reminders that Town Hall exists because people believed in it — and kept believing in it.
The next time you visit (and there’s still plenty on our calendar this season), I hope you’ll take a moment to look around, look up, and feel the story you are part of.
Kate Nagle-Caraluzzo, Executive Director
