Kittredge Theater Re-Opening Delayed by Construction Concerns
Trinity Larsen | April 28, 2026
Construction supplies stacked in the lobby of Kittredge Theater at Warren Wilson College (WWC) in Swannanoa, N.C. on March 31, 2026. (Echo/Richmond Joyce)
In Jensen Hall, many Warren Wilson College (WWC) students can expect to hear flute scales or the blast from a trombone during class. This cacophony began with the temporary relocation of the music department to Jensen in the Fall 2025 while its usual home, Kittredge Theater and Music Center, is under renovation.
Kittredge Theater has been under construction since the summer of 2025 last year. Its repair has caused musicians and faculty to relocate to the third floor of Jensen, a building where humanities classes are taught, for personal and group ensemble practice. The Music Department has also had to conduct some practices in the basement of Gladfelter Dining Hall, where students can hear drum solos while collecting their packages from the mailroom.
“I expected it to be open in November [2025],” Kevin Hudson, WWCs HVAC Crew supervisor said. “There were a lot of fire and life safety concerns that I assumed had already been investigated.”
Hudson shared that a major cause of the delay was the need to rewrite the building’s life safety plan, a document that shows that a particular structure is compliant to codes and ordinances surrounding a safe exit, or egress, in the case of an emergency. WWC had to contact an architect to ensure the safety and feasibility of the theater’s egress routes.
A sign previously used to block a walkway attached to the Kittredge Arts Center rests against the side of Kittredge Theater at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C. on March 31, 2026. (Echo/Richmond Joyce)
According to Hudson, there were issues with the Kittredge construction in the 1970’s that got overlooked in the process of undertaking such a large project. Hudson and the HVAC Crew have made it their priority to make sure that the building operates as best as it can. One way that they are attempting to improve Kittredge’s function is addressing another issue: airflow.
“[There is another] legitimate issue, and it has to do with bringing fresh air in...” Hudson said. “ We changed the way that fresh air entered the [music wing], and by changing that, we kind of changed some safety protection barriers.”
These protection barriers included the building controls, including regulation of when Kittredge’s boiler was on or off.
“The boiler was staying on way too long and was overheating the whole space,” Hudson said. “We got that fixed.
Hudson and the HVAC Crew have been working on getting a new sound system running and cleaning up the music wing of the theater. He is optimistic that the renovations will be completed by the start of the 2026 fall semester.
Josephine (Seaf) Bates is a junior at WWC and the crew lead of the Music Crew. She is anticipating the completion of the renovations, with the hole in the floor outside of her office being one of them.
“I'm looking forward to having a space for the music department to be in again, because having all of the jazz programs in the Glad basement is really inconvenient for everyone,” Bates said.
WWC’s Music Crew is an integral part of the college’s music scene. With the crew having various meeting and work place locations this year due to Kittredge Theater’s renovation, it has been a hassle for members to feel connected with the work they’re doing.
“One of the things that I really liked about being on the Music Crew is our office is just on the second floor of the building, where all the practice rooms are,” Bates said. “We used to have open hours every day so people could stop in and hang out in the crew office and talk. I'm really excited to have our community exist, not just on the Sunderland lawn anymore, and be able to interact more closely [with the community].”
Kittredge Theater is an important part of Warren Wilson. From hosting the Music Crew and rehearsals to providing a gathering space, the delay in its re-opening is felt by many campus community members, who hope that construction will move forward smoothly.