Pop-up card: Former Akita Prefecture Memorial Hall
A pop-up card was created. The model for this card is the former Akita Prefecture Memorial Hall.
The memorial hall was built to commemorate the accession of Emperor Taisho to the throne. It was planned at the same time as the Prefectural Akita Library, which I created the card last time.
For comparison, here is a photo of the memorial hall used in a previous article. (From the “Akita City Guide" published in 1925)
On July 30, 1912, Emperor Meiji died and Emperor Taisho ascended the throne.
At a regular prefectural assembly meeting that year, it was decided that the prefecture would implement a project to commemorate the legacy of Emperor Meiji and the accession of new Emperor to the throne.
There were three desired projects: a library, a museum, and a product exhibition hall. However, the budget did not allow for this, so the construction of a commemorative library and a commemorative hall were discussed at the 1914 prefectural assembly.
The following is a summary of the engineer’s presentation to the assembly.
The building will be located on the south side of the public hall (built in 1904), and the main hall used for meetings is 636 square meters, which is 215 m2 larger than the room in the public hall.
It can accommodate 700 people for a standing dinner and 528 people for a dinner using chairs. The hall can accommodate 1,100 people for a lecture with seating, or 1,400 people if 300 people are seated in the surrounding corridor.
The building will be constructed of wood, the same as the Public hall, and the construction cost is 65,505 yen, with heating, decorations, equipment, etc. to be budgeted separately.
(A description of the memorial library follows, but is omitted.)
On December 20, the prefectural assembly decided to build a memorial hall and a prefectural library.
The design was by Tsuneji Shinbayashi of the prefectural government, with Kingo Tatsuno assisting him as a design advisor.
Construction began in October 1915.
However, there was an incident during construction: on April 29, 1918, the public hall next to the memorial hall was destroyed by fire. The fire broke out while the building was being repainted.
The memorial building was apparently not damaged and was completed on October 31, 1918.
Over the next 40 years, the hall was used for various celebratory events, lectures, concerts, and performances.
In 1960, it was decided to construct a library and a prefectural hall on the site of the memorial hall, and demolition of the memorial hall began in August.
[Reference]
“History of Akita Prefectural Akita Library, 1961" (Akita Prefectural Akita Library/1961)
“Akita City History – Showa Edition" (Akita City History Editorial Board / Akita City / 1967)