Now one institution in transition crosses paths with another, as the Juilliard reopens a venerable hall, the Coolidge Auditorium, newly renovated.

Of all the members of the Benny Goodman band that played the historic Carnegie Hall concert in 1938, the first time the venerable hall had ever played host to a jazz act, only Mr. Griffin and the vocalist Martha Tilton survive.

Those histories have been intimately tied to venerable halls, which have in most cases helped shape a distinctive orchestral sound and character.

The venerable hall has been rocking ever since.

But the very next paragraph shows us Barrett at her most recklessly self-confident, writing dialogue for the heroine: "Dear Madam . . . were you then privileged to know the gentleman of this gracious house whilst still he walked these venerable halls?"

This juxtaposition of the oldest old and the youngest young is startling - especially when you stumble upon it in the venerable halls of an academy of science.

Carnegie Hall opened its 114th season on Wednesday night with a splendid all-Richard Strauss concert by the Philadelphia Orchestra that must have been doubly satisfying for the directors of this venerable hall.

New York's venerable old hall is as acoustically splendid as ever, and the Philadelphians sounded great there.

Charles Sumner was nearly caned to death on the Senate floor before the Civil War, and more recently the venerable Congressional halls have heard some wild charges from the likes of Joseph R. McCarthy and Theodore R. Bilbo.

"It's a venerable old hall, with magnificent old-world acoustics," he said.