Municipal Auditorium (Atlanta)
Atlanta Municipal Auditorium, originally known as the Auditorium and Armory, was an auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It was constructed with funds raised by a committee of Atlanta citizens and then sold to the city of Atlanta.
The structure was dedicated in a pre-inaugural visit from President William Howard Taft in 1909 during which he was served a possum dinner, and the dining hall in which this event took place was named in his honor. The public dedication of the Auditorium took place with the hosting of the inaugural Atlanta Music Festival in May 1909. The Auditorium and Armory also housed the 179th Field Artillery, who stored munitions there as well as using the space for drills.
Over the years various concerts, theater productions, operas, balls, and professional wrestling matches were hosted at the auditorium, as were the 1922 to 1932 Southern Conference men's basketball tournaments. One additional event of note was the Gone with the Wind Ball, held in conjunction with the 1939 premiere of the film.
The building originally had a red brick facade. After a 1940 fire the original architect, John Robert Dillon, redesigned the exterior and it was rebuilt with a marble facade.
Until Woodruff Arts Center opened, the Municipal Auditorium was the home of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
The building was sold in 1979 to Georgia State University which now uses the structure as their Alumni Hall. On September 17, 2010, Georgia State University renamed their Alumni Hall Dahlberg Hall, after alumnus A. W. "Bill" Dahlberg.
Atlanta Municipal Auditorium is located at Gilmer and Courtland Streets in downtown Atlanta.
External links
- Video documentary on history of building
- Historic photos of Municipal Auditorium on Atlanta Time Machine
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Coordinates: 33°45′13″N 84°23′4″W / 33.75361°N 84.38444°W