Charleston Municipal Auditorium

Charleston Municipal Auditorium

Charleston Municipal Auditorium, April 2009
Location 224-232 Virginia St. E., Charleston, West Virginia
Coordinates 38°21′10″N 81°38′24″W / 38.35278°N 81.64000°W / 38.35278; -81.64000Coordinates: 38°21′10″N 81°38′24″W / 38.35278°N 81.64000°W / 38.35278; -81.64000
Built 1939
Architect Wysong, Alphonso F.
Architectural style Art Deco
NRHP Reference # 99001398[1]
Added to NRHP November 22, 1999

Charleston Municipal Auditorium is a historic public auditorium, located at Charleston, West Virginia.

It was constructed in 1939 and is a monolithic concrete and steel structure of massive proportions, situated in the southwestern section of Charleston's central business district.

It is an excellent representation of the Art Deco architectural style in a public building.[2]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.[1]

With a capacity of 3,483 (2,377 on the orchestra level and 1,106 on the balcony), the Municipal Auditorium is the largest theater in West Virginia. Concerts, graduations, Broadway stage shows and other special events, including the annual presentation of The Nutcracker, are held on the auditorium's 65-by-85.5-foot stage.[3]

Notable moments Country music singer Hank Williams (1923-1953) was scheduled to perform a New Year's Eve show at the auditorium on December 31, 1952. Due to bad weather in Nashville TN, he was not able to fly to the venue. While en route to the New Years Day show in Canton OH, Williams died of heart failure in the back seat of his Cadillac near Oak Hill, WV.[4]

External links

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form" (PDF). Charleston Municipal Auditorium. State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. 2009-04-04.
  3. ↑ Municipal Auditorium at CharlestonWVCivicCenter.com Archived September 9, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Lilly, John. "Hank's Lost Charleston Show". West Virginia Division of Culture and History.


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