Ames Courtroom Renovations

The Ames Courtroom in Austin Hall, once the Law School library reading room, and the site of the annual Ames moot court finals since 1954, has been completely renovated at a cost of almost $300,000, officials said yesterday.

The six-month long renovations, which ended last week, will enable fuller and more flexible use of the room both as a classroom and as a courtroom for the Middlesex Superior Court, George Oomen, special assistant to the vice-president for administration, said yesterday.

Musical chairs

The renovations include a new semi-circular seating arrangement for 350, and improved lighting, acoustics and insulation. The ornate ceiling and stone fireplace, designed in 1883 by Henry Hobson Richardson, have been left untouched.

The Watertown architectural firm of Crissman & Soloman, which renovated Littauer in 1978, took charge of the improvements.

The Law School is now beginning a study of mechanical, electrical and physical renovations needed in Austin Hall, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 1983, Russell A. Simpson, assistant dean for financial and general administration at the law school, said yesterday.