A Newport Beach family will donate $4 million toward construction of a new lecture hall at the Newport Beach Public Library, helping further diversify the speakers and performances offered by the library’s nonprofit foundation.
Bill Witte and Keiko Sakamoto have for years supported the Newport Beach Library Foundation and its popular lecture series, which recently celebrated its 25th year. This large donation will give the new 10,000-square-foot lecture hall the Witte name.
The hall, which started construction in 2021 adjacent to the library, is expected to open in 2024. The building cost is estimated at $12.8 million and in the largest public-private partnership in the city’s history will be split between the city and foundation.
The City Council recently approved the hall’s naming after the foundation received the commitment for the Witte family donation, said Jerrold Kappel, CEO of the library foundation. The family’s name will appear on the front of the building at the library entrance and on monument signage.
“Our family is honored to continue our support of the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation and its mission to bring people together,” a Witte family statement said. “We commend the city and the foundation for their vision in taking on this ambitious endeavor. We are deeply committed to promoting community engagement and are thrilled to support such a beautiful building in a central place for the public to gather.”
Martin Witte, the family’s patriarch, was a longtime supporter of the city’s library, which opened in 1994. He also inspired the popular Witte Lectures Series.
Now, his family said he would be “so proud” to see the hall come together. The lecture series has brought more than 100 notable authors, thinkers and provocateurs to the community.
The 2021-22 season featured Ezra Klein, a New York Times columnist and podcast host; Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr., a professor of African American Studies at Princeton University; Dr. Suzanne Simard, a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia; and Charlotte Alter, a senior correspondent at TIME covering politics and social issues. Recent speakers have also included several Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners.
Speakers for the next season will be announced this month.
The new hall will help give the public more access to programming, which Jill Johnson-Tucker, who chaired the city’s design committee and also was on the Board of Library Trustees, said is significant, especially when it comes to programs offered at the library.
Over the years, attendance at the library has increased, Johnson-Tucker said, adding that programming has become the focus of libraries nationwide so having a good facility is a benefit.
Currently, the lecture series and other events are held in a flat-floored room that’s long and narrow and seats 180 people. The new facility will have tiered seating for 299 people.
“There won’t be a bad seat in the house,” she said. “It will have state-of-the-art audio/visual technology. The outdoor courtyard will be expanded to hold pre- and post-events. The location of the Witte Hall, next to the library and the Civic Center, with flexible gatherings spaces, will mean that the library, already the cultural heart of the city, will be able to provide more education and entertainment and opportunities to gather and share ideas.”
Officials expect the hall to increase the diversity of programming brought to the community with more lectures, musical performances, documentaries and children’s performances.
The foundation has also received more interest in naming rights which, before they’re publicly announced, must be approved by the council. But, there are still other options, Kappel said. Major donors will have permanent recognition on the Donor Wall in the Witte Hall lobby and at grand opening events.
