Facilities and Venues

Event Spaces and School Buildings

• Event Venues & Parking

  Event Venues 

  • The Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts – 161 Calhoun St. (The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art is on the first floor of this building.) 
  • Sottile Theatre – 44 George St. 
  • Chapel Theatre – 172 Calhoun St. 
  • Harbor Walk West – 360 Concord St. 
  • Barnet Courtyard – 58 George St. 
  • COMING SOON: Albert Simons Center for the Arts (Recital Hall, Emmett Robinson Theatre, Black Box Theatre) – 54 Saint Philip St. 

   
  Event Parking 

  Public transportation is available with several stops on campus.

  Metered parking is available throughout the area. 

  Parking garages near Cato Center, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Sottile Theatre, Chapel Theatre, Barnet Courtyard: 

  • George St. Garage – 34 Saint Philip St. 
  • Saint Philip St. Garage – 89 Saint Philip St.   

  Parking garage near Harbor Walk: 

  • Aquarium Garage – 24 Calhoun St. 
• Albert Simons Center for the Arts

  During renovation of our flagship building, some of our departments and programs are temporarily relocated. Our Department of Art & Architectural History and our Arts Management Program are at Harbor Walk West, overlooking the picturesque Charleston harbor. Our Department of Studio Art (main office) is across the street in the Lightsey Center, which also houses printmaking and drawing studios; the sculpture studio is a block from main campus. Some classrooms and studios for the Department of Theatre & Dance have temporarily relocated nearby. 

  We worked with Liollio Architecture and HGA Design Firm (Minneapolis) on renovation plans for the Simons Center. We look forward to unveiling a space that celebrates the arts through its architecture — with a bright and colorful ambiance that is inviting to students and visitors. Upon completion, our spaces will provide an even more elevated student and patron experience:  

  • grand entrance and expanded lobby, featuring more art exhibition space  
  • new seminar classrooms, as well as updated and enlarged classroom spaces 
  • new two-story black box theatre; state-of-the-art costume shop, scene shop and theatre design studio; and updated dressing rooms 
  • all new sculpture, printmaking and drawing studios; digital lab; and gallery/multipurpose room 
  • new music practice rooms and revamped dressing room spaces 
  • entire building will be outfitted with new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and updated technological systems 

  Time capsule discovery
• Other Academic Spaces

  The Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts is a 70,000-square-foot building that opened in 2010. The first floor houses the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, the Hill Student Exhibition Gallery, a catering kitchen and a conference room/seminar classroom. You’ll find the Department of Music on the second floor, which features rehearsal and performance space for ensembles. The Department of Theatre and Dance is on the third floor, with movement and dance studios. The fourth floor includes painting studios for faculty and students, and the fifth floor contains a photography suite. The Cato Center is located at 161 Calhoun St. 
   
  The Caroline and Albert Simons, Jr. Center for Historic Preservation, located at the Hugh P. Cameron House, is at 12 Bull St. Built c.1851, the graceful antebellum mansion houses classrooms, design studios, exhibit space and faculty and program offices for our program of Historic Preservation and Community Planning. 
   
  The Chapel Theatre is an intimate, 106-seat, proscenium-style space converted from a former church sanctuary, located at 172 Calhoun St. 
   
  The Barnet Courtyard is an outdoor space that features a covered performance area, sculpture garden, benches and a large lawn. 

  The Sottile Theatre is a recently renovated historic theater where we stage several performances throughout the season.