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By Rex Barber
Johnson City Press Staff Writer
rbarber@johnsoncitypress.com
MILLIGAN COLLEGE — After more than 40 years, Milligan College’s Seeger Memorial Chapel finally has some comfortable seats.
The chapel’s auditorium has been undergoing a $500,000 renovation for the past month to replace the seating, refinish the flooring, add aisle lighting and provide higher balcony railing. The renovation was made possible by James Martin, who provided the funds in memory of his late wife, Mary B. Martin. The chapel’s auditorium will now bear her name.
Of all the renovations, the seats are probably the highlight, Milligan College President Don Jeanes said.
“For many years Milligan folks and community folks, especially those who attend the Johnson City Symphony, with good cause, complained about the seats we had in here,” Jeanes said. “They were the original ones from the late 1960s and they were extremely low, wooden back, and after you sat in them for about an hour you were in pain and agony.”
The new seats have red back and seat cushions and are higher from the floor to provide better audience comfort. About 40 seats were removed, but there are still about 1,140 seats available. Some of the seats accommodate those with disabilities.
“These are much more comfortable seats,” Jeanes said.
Jeanes said most renovation projects expand as they go, and this one was no different. While the seats were removed it was a good time to refinish the wooden floors. Also, the aisle lights required figuring out how to run electricity under the decades-old floors. The chapel’s auditorium balcony will also be updated with higher railing that will bring it up to modern code.
Jeanes said a new stage curtain also was ordered and should be delivered by mid-February.
Jeanes said people will eventually have the opportunity to buy names for the new seats to help pay for the other projects that had to be done throughout the renovation.
Seeger was built in 1967. The chapel has 31,000 feet of space that is used by many community organizations.
“It has been a significant improvement,” Jeanes said. “Structurally, the building’s great, but it just needed some attention after 40 years.”
The Johnson City Symphony uses the chapel for concerts, and other community events are regularly held there, so the building has had a lot of use during the years. Jeanes said many people should appreciate the change.
“Anybody that’s ever sat in the old seats, they’re going to be pleased,” Jeanes said.
James Martin has made other significant contributions to the local arts community, including gifts to East Tennessee State University to establish the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts and to the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough. He also underwrites an annual concert in memory of Mary Martin conducted by the Johnson City Symphony.