But few may realise, the 100-year-old University of Otago building was initially built to be a drill hall for medical students.
The building’s centenary was officially celebrated with a lunchtime concert yesterday.
Today, it is known as Marama Hall, but when it was first opened on April 18, 1923, it was officially named The Maheno and Marama Hall, after the World War 1 hospital ships NZHS Maheno and NZHS Marama.
After the war, the Ministry of Defence offered the university surplus money from the Hospital Ships’ Fund to build a drill hall for medical students.
It was designed by architect Edmund Anscombe and the foundation stone was laid in October 1919.
Construction was completed three years later by Wood and McCormack.
A large honours board remains in the foyer, commemorating the medical staff who served on the ships.
However, by the time the building opened, the Medical School’s training corps was inactive.
The hall was used for some military training and other purposes, including use for many years by the Students’ Association, and later the Education Department.
Later still it became a concert hall, with practise and teaching rooms for what is now the university’s School of Performing Arts.
The building’s centenary was celebrated yesterday with a concert in the hall, by soprano Rebecca Ryan and pianist Terence Dennis, performing the 20th century song cycles of Benjamin Britten and Francis Poulenc.
