Baird Auditorium
The Baird Auditorium is a multi-purpose 530-seat venue located on the ground floor of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C..
History
As one of the oldest public performance venues and lecture halls at the
Architecture
In the planing phase for the new 'National Museum Building,' Smithsonian staff conveyed desire for a lecture hall and an auditorium was added to architects Hornblower & Marshall's plan in 1903.[2] The original seating capacity of the auditorium was 565 seats.[3]
The Baird Auditorium was completed in 1909, designed and built by the R. Guastavino Company under the direction of Rafael Guastavino.[4] The Baird Auditorium is one of the finest examples of the Guastavino tile arch system, inspired by the Catalan vault, in the United States. The American Institute of Architects calls the Baird Auditorium the museum's "greatest interior space."[5] According to architectural scholar Dr. John Ochsendorf, the Baird Auditorium's "daring geometry" in tile construction by the Guastavino company "spans 90 feet (27 meters) with a remarkable shallow dome in acoustical tile, and could only have been built by a company with decades of experience in tile vaulting."[6]
The pilaster bases for the Baird's walls are made of pink Tennessee marble, with the auditorium floor finished primarily in terrazzo. As Richard Rathbun, the Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Charge of the United States National Museum, describes, "The pilaster lines are recalled by border lines of pink Tennessee and Sienna marbles enclosing panels of terrazzo."[7]
In 2020, the Grunley Construction Company, Inc. undertook exterior building renovations to the National Museum of Natural History's National Mall entrances to make them wheelchair accessibility-friendly, as well as a complete retrofit of the Baird's HVAC system.[8]
Notable Speaking Engagements
Science
The Baird Auditorium was the location of the '
Arts and Culture
On October 31, 1933, African American writer and philosopher
![Lonnie Bunch speaking at podium](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/BunchBairdAuritorium_SIA-2005-34486_NoRestrictions.jpg/220px-BunchBairdAuritorium_SIA-2005-34486_NoRestrictions.jpg)
Performances
The Baird Auditorium has a long and illustrious history of musical performances. As early as 1914 the Baird was used for "Friday Morning Music Club" performances that celebrated American music.[16]
"Jazz at the Smithsonian"
Blues singer Alberta Hunter performed at the Baird on several occasions during her late-1970s 'comeback' career period, including: on January 7, 1977,[17] and in a filmed performance on November 29, 1981, which received commercial home video release as, "Alberta Hunter: Jazz at the Smithsonian," originally released in 1982.[18]
![Program guide for Alberta Hunter's January 7, 1979 performance at the Baird Auditorium.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/AlbertaHunter-SmithsonianJazzHeritage-Program-19790107.jpg/220px-AlbertaHunter-SmithsonianJazzHeritage-Program-19790107.jpg)
Country Music Performances
In 1979 the Sons of the Pioneers were honored with a "National Treasure" designation by the Smithsonian Division of Performing Arts, which hosted a performance by the group in the Baird Auditorium.[22]
Other Notable Musical Performances
In early February 1977, Muddy Waters performed in the Baird as part of the Smithsonian Institution's blues series presented by the Division of Performing Arts.[23] Pete Seeger and Sweet Honey in the Rock performed an evening of "protest songs from Colonial times to today," together on the Baird's stage on January 8, 1978.[24]
In 1990 Bill Kirchner, a Jazztimes Critics' Poll "Best Emerging Jazz Arranger" winner, performed "Yes, Yes, Nonet!" with a nine-member orchestra.[25]
Jazz great
David Byrne promoted his 2012 book, "How Music Works," with a talk held in the Baird Auditorium on October 1, 2012.[27]
References
- ^ Smithsonian Institution (1916). Annual Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30, 1916. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 45.
- JSTOR 4127992– via JSTOR.
- ISBN 9780087479890.
- ^ "How Do You Support a 5-ton Elephant?". Bookworm History. November 17, 2015. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- OCLC 1272882861.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - OCLC 769114424.
- ^ Rathbun, Richard (1913). A Descriptive Account of the Building Recently Erected for the Departments of Natural History of the United States National Museum (1st ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 43–45.
- ^ "National Museum of Natural History, Southside Improvements". Grunley Construction. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ^ "'Great Debate' Lesson Plan for Undergraduates". apod.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ISBN 9780935702057.
- S2CID 120585717.
- S2CID 202516579.
- ^ WETA (22 June 2016). "How Helen Hayes Helped Desegregate the National Theatre". Boundary Stones: WETA's Washington DC History Blog. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
- ^ S2CID 202515088.
- ^ "THE SMITHSONIAN ASSOCIATES PRESENTS 'SUGAR RAY'S BIG FIGHT: INSIDE THE WORLD OF BOXING'". US Fed News (USA). September 17, 2012. p. 2.
- ^ Smithsonian Institution (1914). Annual Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30, 1914. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 44.
- ^ Sumrall, Harry (January 8, 1979). "Alberta Hunter". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ United States Copyright Registration. Type of Work: Motion Picture; Registration Number / Date: PA0000163741 / 1982-12-17; Title: Alberta Hunter / a production of Adler Enterprises, Ltd.; produced and directed by Clarke Santee [i.e. Clark Santee] and Delia Gravel Santee. Imprint: McLean, Va.: Distributed by Adler Video Marketing, c1982. Description: 1 videocassette (58 min.) : sd., col. ; 3/4 in.; Series: Jazz at the Smithsonian. Notes: Host: Willis Conover. Deposit includes descriptive folder (4 p.); Copyright Claimant: Adler Enterprises, Ltd.; Date of Creation: 1981. Date of Publication: 1982-04-22. Authorship on Application: Adler Enterprises, Ltd., employer for hire. Copyright Note: C.O. correspondence.
- ^ "Mother Maybelle Carter and the Carter family [sound recording]. 1975-05-18. 2 sound tape reels : analog, 7 1/2 ips, full track ; 10 in.manuscripts 1 folder. Local shelving no.: LWO 8906AFS 18089-18090AFC 1976/018". Library of Congress, American Folklife Center.
- ^ "October at the Smithsonian Institution" (PDF). The Smithsonian Torch. Vol. 76–9. October 1976. p. 5. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ Summers, K.C. (June 2, 1978). "Ernest Tubb". The Washington Post. p. 3.
- ^ "Awards". Sons of the Pioneers. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
- ^ Harris-Hurd, Laura (February 5, 1977). "Muddy Waters Warms Washington Crowd". New York Amsterdam News. pp. D15.
- ^ Richmond, Phyllis C. (January 8, 1978). "Where Has All the Protest Gone?". The Washington Post. p. 39.
- ^ Smithsonian Institution (1990). Smithsonian Year 1990 Supplement: Appendices and Chronology (1st ed.). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 258.
- ^ "Record Wynton Marsalis Talks Jazz | Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution". collections.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
- ^ "THE SMITHSONIAN ASSOCIATES PRESENTS 'DAVID BYRNE IN CONVERSATION'". US Fed News (USA). September 17, 2012. p. 2.
External links
- Event Space Rental website for Baird Auditorium, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.
- "Alberta Hunter: Jazz at the Smithsonian" (1982) home video release of her 1981 performance at the Baird Auditorium, streaming on YouTube
- Video lecture by film scholar Ned Thanhouser about the Submarine Film Corporation's early underwater movies, which premiered in the Baird Auditorium in 1914.