Charleston Municipal Auditorium

Charleston Municipal Auditorium
Charleston Municipal Auditorium, April 2009
Charleston Municipal Auditorium is located in West Virginia
Charleston Municipal Auditorium
Charleston Municipal Auditorium is located in the United States
Charleston Municipal Auditorium
Location224-232 Virginia St. E., Charleston, West Virginia
Coordinates38°21′10″N 81°38′24″W / 38.35278°N 81.64000°W / 38.35278; -81.64000
Built1939
ArchitectWysong, Alphonso F.
Architectural styleArt Deco
NRHP reference No.99001398[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 22, 1999

Charleston Municipal Auditorium is a public auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia, as part of the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.

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

It is an example of the Art Deco architectural style in a public building[2] and 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]

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, he was not able to fly to the venue. While en route to the New Year's Day show in Canton, Ohio, Williams died of heart failure in the back seat of his Cadillac near Oak Hill, West Virginia.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  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. Retrieved March 8, 2011.


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