BMCC sets its eyes on improvements for Pioneer Hall
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, September 9th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories
PENDLETON – The work to install a new roof on Morrow Hall at the Blue Mountain Community College Pendleton campus should be done this week. The next major project for the future will be fixing up Pioneer Hall.
BMCC President Mark Browning says that due to public safety requirements, the Bob Clapp Theater in the hall must be improved if the college continues to house College Community Theater. He said that CCT is working to find space for its performances for the immediate future and understands the difficulty the college faces.
“Pioneer Hall is the biggest building we have on campus,” Browning said. “It’s the most diverse. It has a theater. It has an art gallery. It has the Den which is the center for our student activity, the food bank, the library. It has offices. It also has the student union gathering area where we have food and classrooms.”
He says BMCC doesn’t have the funds to replace Pioneer Hall with a new structure. “Our project is to figure out what are the future needs for students and us as we match those programs and the needs of the students and community. How do we retrofit this building?”
He says the college is looking at a major remodeling project and determining how it can obtain funding for such an undertaking. He said the college will start with Pioneer Hall and then move to the needs for Morrow Hall and the rest of the Pendleton campus.
