Sign your name on a steel beam before it is positioned high into the new building.

Construction at the new Hancher Auditorium is approaching the halfway point, a significant milestone in the creation of a new home for the performing arts on the University of Iowa campus. To celebrate, Hancher and Mortenson Construction invite the public to sign a steel beam that will be placed into the new building. The Leave Your Mark event, which will also include a public ceremony featuring singer/songwriter Susan Werner, will take place October 7 and 8.

The beam will be available for signing near the south end of the new entrance driveway that runs from Park Road between the Levitt Center and the new Hancher facility. The construction gate at that location will be open to allow the public to sign the beam from noon to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 7. Signing will continue on Wednesday, October 8 from 8 to 10 a.m.

At 11 a.m. on October 8, a brief ceremony will take place at the base of a new stairwell that has been constructed between the parking area and the new Hancher location. Members of the public can gather on the hillside at that location to hear remarks and Werner’s performance. During the ceremony, the signed beam will be placed in its final position in the southern cantilever of the new Hancher Auditorium.

The public will be able to park at no charge in an area of the Hancher parking lot that will be clearly marked on the days of the event. Accessible parking will be available outside the Levitt Center just inside the new drive as one enters from Park Road.

Over 1,000 craftworkers have expended nearly 300,000 hours on the Hancher project to date. The Leave Your Mark event honors their work and commitment while allowing the public to note this key moment in the building’s construction.

Download a map of the event site and event parking areas.