Topping Out Celebration
Planned for Kravis Center

On behalf of Claremont McKenna College President Pamela Gann, the CMC community is invited to attend the Wednesday, March 31 Kravis Center Topping Out Celebration from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. on the lawn between Adams and Seaman halls, just east of the Kravis Ceter construction site.
The topping out celebration is a tradition among ironworkers, signaling that the final piece of steel is being hoisted into place on a building. While it doesn't indicate that the project is completed, it signifies that the construction project has reached its maximum height.
Wednesday's ceremony will include remarks from President Gann and Guy Grenon, supervisor for Bernards Construction, the company that is overseeing the new center's completion. The Kravis Center, scheduled to open in spring 2011, was designed by renowned architect Rafael Vi?oly (Rafael Vi?oly Architects PC), with a landmark gift from The Marie-Jos?e and Henry R. Kravis Foundation.
(For more on the Center, including sketches, drawings, and other images, visit: https://www.claremontmckenna.edu/construction/projects_current.php. You can also keep pace with the building's progress in real time via project Web cams, which refresh construction snapshots every five minutes: https://www.claremontmckenna.edu/construction/webcams.php.)
Beginning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 30 and continuing through 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, March 31, members of the CMC community will have an opportunity to sign the beam that will be used in the ceremony.
Refreshments will be served during the Wednesday event. For photography purposes, students attending the celebration are encouraged to wear CMC branded clothing.
As part of the milestone festivities, an American flag and a small evergreen treea symbol in the field of construction of strength and progresswill be attached to the iron that is hoisted in place. The beam, painted white, will also include signatures from iron workers, donors, trustees, Mr. Kravis, and Mr. Vi?oly.
In the event of rain, Wednesday's celebration will be held in McKenna Auditorium.