Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for Nov. 4, 2024

Questions about timeline for important auditorium

As executive director of the Marin Symphony Association, I think the article published Oct. 23 by Richard Halstead with the headline “‘Scandalous’: Marin extends closure of key performance venue” does a good job of describing the sorry recent history of attempts to restore the Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium to a condition that is safe to occupy.

The article touches on the challenges that losing a primary performance venue creates for organizations like the Marin Symphony. I would like to add that we also must consider the plight of the biggest stakeholders, the citizens of Marin County.

Recent surveys have confirmed what we already knew: Marin residents consider the arts to be not just optional enrichment, but an essential part of life. These residents had every reason to assume that the VMA, the only large-scale indoor performance venue in the county — which had been bought and paid for with their tax dollars — was being appropriately maintained. Sadly, as this article makes clear, this was not the case: The deterioration of the building has taken place over 50 years of neglect.

While I appreciate that the current county administration is finally trying to fix the VMA mess, I remain frustrated and bewildered by the open-ended timeline that this article describes. It took 13 months to construct the Empire State Building, why are we looking at nearly four years just to make this existing structure suitable for use again?

— Tod Brody, Mill Valley