Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City, Missouri)
Streamline Moderne and Art Deco venue opened in 1935.
Municipal Auditorium is a multi-purpose facility in Kansas City, Missouri, that opened in 1935. It was the first building constructed under the city's 'Ten-Year Plan,' a bond program passed in 1931, and features Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architecture. The building is connected to the H. Roe Bartle Convention Center via skywalks and includes an arena, a music hall, and a little theatre.
Quick Facts
- Opened
- 1935
- Location
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Architectural style
- Streamline Moderne and Art Deco
- Lead architectural firm
- Alonzo H. Gentry, Voskamp & Neville
- Associated architects
- Hoit, Price & Barnes
- Notable feature
- Nicknamed 'Municipal,' hosted three of the first four NCAA Final Fours
Facts from the source article.
Background
Municipal Auditorium replaced Convention Hall, which was across the street and torn down for parking, now Barney Allis Plaza. The architectural services were divided between the firms of Gentry, Voskamp & Neville (lead) and Hoit, Price & Barnes (mechanical work). The decision was controversial; Gentry's firm was smaller, but Gentry's father had been a prominent Democratic politician, making him the preference of the Pendergast machine. Homer F. Neville was the lead designer, and William L. Cassell directed the mechanical design. When the building opened, Architectural Record called it 'one of the 10 best buildings of the world that year,' and in 2000 Princeton Architectural Press named it one of the 500 most important architectural works in the United States.
Did You Know?
- On November 13, 1979, Darryl Dawkins shattered a backboard during a game at Municipal Auditorium.
- The Little Theatre is an octagonal ballroom with a capacity of 400.
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