Located in Southern Minnesota’s Northfield community, the state-of-the-art Kracum Performance Hall is the centerpiece of Carleton’s brand-new Music and Performance Commons at the Weitz Center for Creativity.

Carleton College purchased the vacant schoolhouse that would become the Weitz Center for Creativity in 2005. From the earliest stages of the project, the plans for this historic building a few blocks from campus called for preserving its history and unique architectural features. At the same time, architects would create a new, innovative space that would make it far more than an arts building.

Over the years, the 1910 schoolhouse’s exterior on Union Street remained largely unchanged. But, on the inside, the facility was entirely reimagined to include a cinema, performance theater, classrooms, and gathering spaces for meetings, lectures, temporary exhibits, and small performances.

Working closely with McGough Construction, HGA Architects, Acoustical and A/V designers Acoustic Distinctions, and theater consultants and lighting designers Schuler Shook, Carleton was ready to start Phase Two of this ambitious project in 2016. This time, they were building the new Music and Performance Commons from the ground up. Once complete, the $35 million investment would become the home for the majority of Carleton’s music program while also creating a modern performance space to replace the existing Concert Hall.