Extra Door May Raise Ban On HDC Workshop Firetrap

Dramatic Club hopes of holding parties again in its "Big Tree" workshop, condemned as a firetrap, revived yesterday when H.D.C. President Francis J. O'Neil, Jr. '55, suggested that building another door might lift the ban.

Under a 1951 ruling, the University allows only six people to use the small scenery workshop, located on Holyoke St., at one time. Last week the Club unsuccessfully asked the Dean's Office for permission to hold a beer party there last Saturday.

O'Neil proposes to construct a door from the H.D.C. room into a hallway that belongs to the Hygiene Department's Grant Study Center, which shares "Big Tree." The Club thus hopes to comply with the law which requires "two egresses" for "places of assembly."

This plan has yet to have University, Building and Grounds, or the Hygiene Department's approval.

Condemned in 1951

The fire department and the Buildings and Grounds condemned Big Tree in the spring of 1951. A small wastepaper basket blaze that started during a traditional "after-the-show" party touched off an investigation. The blaze was quickly extinguished, but Buildings and Grounds termed the building's contents "highly inflammable" and recommended that the H.D.C. construct sets somewhere else.

After some deliberation, the University decided the Club could use the University-owned building under certain provisions which included: better fireproofing (at University expense), no smoking, no more than six members in the room, and no social gatherings.