San Antonio Municipal Auditorium
San Antonio Municipal Auditorium | |
Location | 100 Auditorium Circle, San Antonio, Texas, US |
---|---|
Coordinates | 29°25′50″N 98°29′20″W / 29.43056°N 98.48889°W |
Area | 125,000 square feet (12,000 m2) |
Built | 1926 |
Architect | Atlee Ayres Robert M. Ayres George Willis Emmett Jackson |
Architectural style | Spanish Colonial Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 81000624[1] |
Added to NRHP | September 14, 1981 |
The San Antonio Municipal Auditorium was a building located at 100 Auditorium Circle, San Antonio, Texas. It was built as a memorial to American soldiers killed in World War I.
The San Antonio Municipal Auditorium was also used as a concert venue.[2]
The building was rebuilt and expanded into the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in 2009-2014.
Construction
The limestone arena was built in 1926 and designed in Spanish Colonial Revival style[3] by Atlee Ayres,[4] his son Robert M. Ayres, and their associates George Willis and Emmett Jackson.[5] In 1929, the American Institute of Architects awarded the architects a gold medal for the arena's design.[6] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.[7]
Features
Initially built to honor America's World War I military dead,[7] the 125,000 square feet (12,000 m2) structure is part of the Veterans Memorial Plaza. The white marble War Mothers Memorial honoring the mothers whose sons who fought in World War I was erected at the corner of the arena in 1938 by the San Antonio Chapter No. 2 of American War Mothers.[8] In front of the arena, Hill 881 South by sculptor Austin Deuel was dedicated to veterans of the Vietnam War in 1986.[9][10] The 1994 Night Watch, aka Korean War Memorial, by sculptor Jonas Perkins is across from the auditorium's front entrance.[11][12] Near the Korean War Memorial is the 1995 50th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge plaque on a granite monument.[13]
Architecture
The 6 acres (2.4 ha) on which the auditorium is built was purchased from different entities, including a garden area from the Ursuline Academy.
Restoration
At the time of the 1981 NRHP designation, the building stood vacant due a fire that had destroyed much of the interior in 1979 and rendered the asbestos curtain beyond repair. An April 1981 voter bond referendum approved $9.1 million for restoration.[9] The renovated auditorium was rededicated in 1985.[15]
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, TX, USA Concert Setlists". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-292-73072-4.
- ^ "Atlee Bernard Ayres". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ^ Cocke, Stephanie Hetos. "George Rodney Willis". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ^ Cocke, Stephanie Hetos. "Robert Moss Ayres". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ^ a b c d "San Antonio Municipal Auditorium". Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ^ "WW1 Monument Honoring American War Mothers - San Antonio, TX, USA". Waymarking. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ^ a b "Auditorium Circle (Veterans Memorial Plaza)". City of San Antonio. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ^ "Vietnam War Memorial, San Antonio, TX, USA". Waymarking. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-56554-821-3.
- ^ "Korean War Memorial – San Antonio, TX". Waymarking. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ^ "50th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge – San Antonio, TX, USA". Waymarking. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ^ Remy, Caroline. "Hugo D. Pohl". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ^ "Minutes of the San Antonio city council meetings Oct 31 – Nov 1, 2007" (PDF). City of San Antonio. Retrieved March 17, 2014.