Tawes Theatre

Tawes Theatre, located in College Park, Maryland, is the former home of the Department of Theatre and School of Music of the University of Maryland. It is the largest auditorium on the UM Campus, with a seating capacity of over 1,400. Due to the construction of the new Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in the early 2000s, Tawes is used far less and is, in fact, scheduled for renovation beginning in 2007. Some controversy has erupted over the fact that, although the academic portion of the building will be re-opened for use by the English Department at Maryland, the school will not reopen the theater itself. It is now listed as the "Tawes Fine Arts Building" [http://www.umd.edu/CampusMaps/index.cfm?sort=bld_name&compList=1] .

There is also a Tawes Theatre at Washington College, in Chestertown, Maryland. It was named after J. Millard Tawes, who was governor of Maryland from 1959 through 1967.