Thursday, February 8, 2007 Older Editions

$5 million to boost Phillips, Addison

By April Guilmet

A $5 million gift to Phillips Academy from a former student won't just benefit the private school's 1,100 students but the community at large, says school spokesman Stephen Porter.

Thomas Israel, a member of the school's class of 1962, has pledged an unrestricted gift of $5 million, the school has announced.

The academy plans to use $3 million of Israel's grant for renovations of both the Addison Gallery of American Art and the Commons, which houses the school's cafeteria and a student recreation area. Both buildings were built in the early 1930s and are in major need of renovations, Porter said. The school has not decided what it will do with the remaining $2 million of Israel's grant.

"Two million will support the renovation of the Commons and $1 million will help the Addison," Porter said.

Built in 1931, the Addison Gallery of American Art - the first gallery anywhere devoted entirely to American Art - has grown little beyond its original construction, said Brian Allen, the gallery's director. It is open to the public free of charge and its seasonal openings are frequented by Andover residents. When the project is completed, Allen said the building will be 60 percent larger.

"We had a new roof put on around 20 years ago and in the early '90s we had heating, venting and air conditioning added," Allen said. "But since 1931, we have not added one inch of new space."

Only a tiny percentage of the museum's collection is on display at any given time, he said.

"The problem is when we first opened we had around 600 pieces. But now we have somewhere around 15,000," Allen said. Although the museum has an extensive collection of books, space issues make it necessary for the library to be scattered throughout the building.

In addition to more museum space, the grant will allow the Addison to build more storage space, centralize its library and build a large education area.

"The education area will allow us to better serve students coming to the Addison to study works currently in storage," Allen said. "The books will be more accessible (after renovations) and will all be in one spot."

The museum is visited by both locals and lovers of art from all over New England, Allen added. "Not only Phillips students come here, but students from many other area schools come in abundance," he said.

Israel, owner of A.C. Israel Enterprises, a New York-based importing firm, said he decided to donate the $5 million to give back to the school that he says gave so much to him.

"The education I got at Andover was far and away the most important part of my education," Israel said.

Thanks to his donation, plans are also in the works to both update and modernize the Commons, which currently serves three meals daily to the academy's 1,096 students, 799 of whom reside on campus.

Although the full construction plan has not yet been unveiled, Porter said the renovations will include improvements to dining and kitchen facilities, a plaza area, an outdoor terrace, an all-day dining facility and improvements to the Ryley Room, the recreation area, which is now in need of expansion.

The Commons first opened in 1930. While a partial renovation to its kitchen area was completed in 1979, the building hasn't changed much since the '30s. The Ryley Room opened in 1935.

Both the Addison and Commons projects are currently in the design phase, Porter said.