Construction to start on OCC arts pavilion

Deirdre Newman

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held on campus Wednesday for the

Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, and the ceremonial shovels escaped

unscathed.

Once constructed, the pavilion will house the Orange Coast College

Art Gallery, the Young Artists Gallery and The Gallery Cafe.

The 8,500-square-foot pavilion will be built with private

contributions and more than $600,000 from the Associated Students of

Orange Coast College.

It will provide a fine arts entrance to the campus and complement

the Arts Center, which opened in 2002.

“This is the first of a whole series of projects that will be

built on campus,” said Douglas Bennett, executive director of the

Orange Coast College Foundation. “In many ways, it’s the keystone.”

The groundbreaking did not break any actual ground, but served as

an occasion to celebrate the beginning of the construction process.

The construction isn’t anticipated to start until May, Bennett said.

The pavilion has been in the works for six years and was

facilitated by the generous donation of Trudy Doyle, Frank’s widow,

who donated $1 million to the effort.

“It’s so great that OCC is doing this beautiful work and has

allowed us the privilege of cooperating with them,” she said. “It

makes the whole thing worthwhile.”

Frank Doyle, an Orange County developer, built homes in cities

like Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach. He also built the first

condominiums in Southern California. He passed away in 1996.

The main gallery in the pavilion will replace the campus’ previous

gallery, which was torn down to construct the Arts Center, OCC

spokesman Jim Carnett said. It will be at least twice the size of the

former gallery and display OCC student art shows, he added.

“A gallery has always been an integral part of this campus,”

Carnett said. “We felt the need to carry on that tradition because

the community expected it.”

The idea for the Young Artists Gallery was hatched when Ted Baker

was the Dean of the Fine Arts Division.

“The idea for a young persons’ gallery came out of a brainstorm --

to bring children on campus and give them a place,” Baker said. “OCC

historically, for a number of years, had high school shows on

campus.”

The Young Artists Gallery will serve kindergarteners through high

school seniors. There will also be a book nook in the pavilion that

will present shows by children’s book illustrators and storytelling,

Baker added.