NEW PROPOSAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26543, 19 August 1947, Page 4

NEW PROPOSAL

REMODELLING OF THE BUILDING ATHEN/EUM CONTINUES After confirmation of the proposal by the City Council, details of the successful outcome of the negotiations v.ere given to the Daily Times by Cr Jolly, chairman of the General Committee, who has been closely associated with the project from the outset. Cr Jolly said that the General Committee had now completed arrangements with the Dunedin Athenaeum Committee to acquire part of the Athenaeum premises—half of the ground floor—for women’s rest rooms. The building is admirably situated for the purpose and there is ample space to provide the necessary amenities which have been totally inadequate in the existing rest rooms in Princes street. Complete Renovation To meet the requirements of the rest room authorities, the building will be completely renovated, and in addition to the rest rooms, provision wili be made for cloak roqms, as well as a room for mothers with young children and a room in which prams may be left. The rest rooms will be tastefully furnished and will be heated by a cenIral heating system which is already installed in the Athenaeum building. Adequate lighting and ventilation will be provided. The present entrance to the building from the Octagon will be used, but it is to be enlarged, and an architect will be engaged to prepare plans for the remodelling of the building. The Athenaeum Committee will continue to carry out its present functions with its reading room and library in the other portion of the building, Cr Jolly expressed his personal appreciation of the gesture of the Duneidn Athenaeum Committee in making this central site available 4 to the civic authorities and the women of Otago Present Rooms Unsuitable For many years past the women’s rest room had been situated in the upstairs part of a small building in Princes street, said Cr Jolly, and access was most inconvenient for young mothers who were required to leave their prams downstairs and carry their babies upstairs while the premises had also proved most unsuitable for elderly women. He added that on a Friday as many as 1000 women might use the rest room. Providing a building permit is made available by the Government—and in view of the ugrency of the need. Cr Jolly said he did not think there would be any difficulty about that—the remodelling would be put in hand almost immediately so that the building would be ready for use in time for the centennial celebrations. Cr Jolly expressed his thanks to the City Council for its ready co-opera-tion in the negotiations which had taken place, and especially to Cr Barr, who was untiring in his efforts to find a suitable site for the purpose.