SUMMARY OF FACILITIES AVAILABLE
The Athenaeum has five rooms which are available for renting during office hours on weekdays. A schedule of evening availability is posted separately.
- The Newbery Hall lecture theatre
- The Drawing-rooms.
- The Boardroom (Dorothea Bleek room).
- The Alex du Toit room.
- The Goodwin room.
A small kitchen is available, where hot drinks and light meals can be prepared by tenants.
The manageress occupies a self-contained apartment at the back of the building.
For a layout plan of the building see here.
Newbery Hall
This lecture theatre can accommodate up to 120 persons. The dimensions are approximately 8 metres by 14 metres, i.e. the floor area is about 117 square metres. The room is air-conditioned.
It is equipped with a Hitachi CPX2510 data projector, which will display on to a large screen images or videos from a laptop computer placed on the lectern. A VGA connection is provided for this, on the lectern.
A Samsung DVD player is built into the lectern.
There is a public address system, based on a 60-Watt DSPPA MP-7806 amplifier, with two Gemini UHF-216 wireless microphones, one hand-held and the other head-mounted. Both microphones can be used simultaneously, which is practical when the chairman of a meeting wishes to introduce a speaker, or to make comments or handle questions from the floor. It is possible to use a conventional (cabled) lapel-mounted microphone instead of the head-mounted wireless microphone if the speaker prefers.
The lighting is based on 18 banks of triple fluorescent tubes, which can be switched from near the lectern so that there is illumination from 18, 36 or 54 tubes. There are also dimmable downlights (GU-10 LEDs)in the ceiling.
There are racks for the display of artwork, notices, etc., along the sides of the hall, and separate sideways-pointing mercury-arc lighting is provided for these.
Backup electrical power is available, so that the Newbery Hall lecture theatre can be used during load-shedding. The audiovisual equipment and LED downlights are supported.
Please note that the fluorescent lights, arc-lights and air-conditioning, all of which draw heavy currents, cannot be used in battery backup mode..
Drawing-Rooms
These two elegant interleading rooms with bay windows are of dimensions 7 metres x 5 metres and 8 metres x 5 metres. The total floor area is approximately 75 square metres. They are commonly used for social functions.
(On Wednesdays the drawing-rooms are only available after 09h30, at present.)
Boardroom (Dorothea Bleek Room)
The room, of dimensions 7 metres x 5 metres, is equipped with a large boardroom table, which seats 12 people comfortably. Member societies use it mainly in the evenings.
This room is sometimes rented ad hoc by corporate bodies of sectional title premises.
At present it is also used by a member society between 09h00 and 13h00 on the 3rd Thursday of each month.
Alex du Toit Room
This large room, of approximate dimensions 8 metres x 6 metres, is sparsely furnished. At present it is used on weekday evenings after 17h30; and by drama and dance groups over the weekends.
Goodwin Room
This room, of dimensions 7 metres x 5 metres, is sparsely furnished, and has a separate outside entrance. It can be rented on a permanent basis.