Foothill Community College began construction on its Smithwick Theatre roof in early April and will reopen on October 31. For the rest of the school year and summer, the school’s theater company and other renters in the meantime will use other facilities until the project is completed.
Smithwick Theatre was built in 1961 and the internal structure will be replaced, according to Simon Pennington, associate vice president of Foothill’s college and community relations. The structure needs a current replacement due to age, not environmental factors. Pennington said people involved with the facility were given a heads-up with the construction.
“This has been scheduled for several years,” Pennington said. “We assess our beams on a regular basis. It was brought to our attention about Smithwick a couple of years ago. And it was scheduled, but getting contractors in place takes time. We have to bid for these things. But we’re really happy that everything is taking place.”
Pennington said the project consists of upgrading the Pacific Rim beams, a style that mimics Chinese and Japanese architecture, and replacing them with weather-protected materials. When the construction of Smithwick took place 64 years ago, he said the contractors did not think of this type of maintenance. Pennington said the five-month project is fast for what is involved with the construction.
“Until the maintenance is concluded, the regular use of the Smithwick Theatre is obviously curtailed because we can’t have anybody inside for safety reasons,” Pennington said. “So for instance, the college events that would normally take place in the Smithwick Theatre, like our upcoming ‘Day on the Hill,’ which is on May 4, are being moved to alternative venues on campus. It just takes time to do work on these old buildings.”
The roof project is funded by Measure G, an $898 million obligation bond passed on March 3, 2020, by Foothill-De Anza Community College District’s service area voters, that provides upgrades to university construction, repairs and equipment.
Other Measure G projects are underway, such as creating gender-neutral restrooms in the library and building ADA-accessible bleachers on the football field. Pennington said all the investments are there to improve aging
facilities, but they have to be very careful how they spend their money since community colleges receive a small annual budget from the state.
“Community colleges are the lowest funded educational system in the state of California,” Pennington said. “UCs are at the top, then CSUs, K through 12 and then community college. We do a lot with very little. We have to plan accordingly for all projects. We would love to replace some buildings, but that’s not feasible.”
For more information, visit foothill.edu/measurec.
