Civic Center Music Hall

Civic Center Music Hall
Address	201 North Walker Ave.; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ; United States
Coordinates	35°28′09″N97°31′24″W / 35.469041°N 97.523361°W
Type	Performing arts center
Capacity	Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre: 2,477; Freede Little Theatre: 286; CitySpace Theatre: 100
Construction
Opened	October 4, 1937
Architect	Hawk & Parr
Website
	www.okcciviccenter.com

Last updated December 19, 2023

The Civic Center Music Hall is a performing arts center located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was constructed in 1937 as Municipal Auditorium and renamed in 1966. The facility includes the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre, the Freede Little Theatre, CitySpace, the Meinders Hall of Mirrors and the Joel Levine Rehearsal Hall.

The Civic Center Music Hall is managed and operated in conjunction with the Rose State Performing Arts Theatre. Together they serve more than 300,000 patrons at around 250 performances at four different stages each year. The center is home to seven professional arts organizations: Canterbury Voices, OKC Broadway, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Ballet, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Oklahoma City Rep, and Painted Sky Opera.^[1]

One of the community art centers created by the WPA Federal Art Project, the Oklahoma Art Center was located in Municipal Auditorium (1941)

Exhibit at the Federal Gallery in the Oklahoma Art Center (1941)

History

In 1927, the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and the city jointly purchased the land that would become home to a municipal auditorium after voters approved a $4 million bond for the site. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs in the 1930s contributed 55 percent of the cost of building through the Public Works Administration. J. O. Parr began planning and designing the Municipal Auditorium, budgeted at $1.25 million. The original design features a six-story building with both neoclassical and Art Deco features that seated 6,200 in the main hall and smaller theatre that seated 400.[citation needed]

In August 1935, the Roosevelt Administration announced that all PWA projects had to break ground by December 1935 or risk losing federal support. W. S. Bellows Construction became the primary contractor and began on-site excavation on time. The Municipal Auditorium was completed in April 1937. The first performance, "Rhapsodic Rhythms" took place on October 4, 1937.

The Oklahoma Art Center, a community art center administered by the Federal Art Project, was located in Municipal Auditorium.^[2] Fundraising campaigns began for the successful organization as the Federal Art Project came to an end, and in May 1945 the Oklahoma Art Center was incorporated.^[3] In 1989 it was merged into the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.^[4]

In 1966, the Municipal Auditorium was remodeled and renamed the Civic Center Music Hall.^[5] The main auditorium was renovated to cater more to the performing arts by decreasing the size of the hall, moving the side wall in and installing mahogany panels, lowering the ceiling and replacing the portable floor with a sloped fixed floor. In 1971, the basement was converted into office space and later converted back to the theatre space and dressing rooms. One of the biggest concerts to ever play the venue^{[ citation needed ]} was KISS on their 1976 Alive! tour. The band's opening act did not make it to the building forcing the management to find a new opening act on the day of the show. The band that was called to fill in was referred by the then Assistant Technical Director Richard Charnay (who would put in a 40+ year career at the music hall). The band was called Mountain Smoke which featured an unknown artist by the name of Vince Gill.^{[ citation needed ]}

The Little Theatre was closed in 1985 because it was damaged from old age, abuse, and a fire. It was later renovated and reopened to the public.

In September 2001, the Civic Center Music Hall reopened after a three-year renovation. A complete interior renovation of the historic Civic Center Music Hall includes accommodations for major theatrical, dance and musical groups; a multi-story atrium; balconies, box seats and suites; excellent acoustics; and a hydraulic orchestra pit.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

In 2018, the Civic Center Foundation assumed full management of the Civic Center Music Hall and Rose State College Performing Arts Theatre from the City of Oklahoma City.

Foundation and volunteer organizations

The Civic Center Foundation, established in 2001, is a private non-profit organization that supports the Civic Center Music Hall financially to help bring performing arts to Oklahoma City to improve the community.^[6]

The Civic Center Foundation has helped make capital improvements including the Civic Center Music Hall's new message center and improvements to the Freede Little Theatre.

The Foundation raises funds through two programs, the Seat Back Campaign and the Suite Holder Program.^[6] Patrons can help the Civic Center Music Hall by purchasing personalized seat back plates at the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre or by becoming a suite or box holder at the Civic Center Music Hall.

The Civic Center Music Hall is also home to STARS, a volunteer group of more than 300 people who contribute thousands of hours each year.^[7]

Related Research Articles

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References

↑ Resident Companies (accessed February 2, 2020).
↑ "The Works Progress Administration". Oklahoma Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2015-06-20. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
↑ "Oklahoma City Museum of Art". Resource Library. Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc. 2009. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
↑ "Museum History". Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
↑ Civic Center Music Hall Profile Archived 2010-10-15 at the Wayback Machine , About.com Archived 2007-07-02 at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 19, 2010).
1 2 Civic Center Foundation (accessed May 19, 2010).
↑ Civic Center Volunteers (STARS) (accessed May 19, 2010).

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[companies-1] Resident Companies (accessed February 2, 2020).

[2] "The Works Progress Administration". Oklahoma Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2015-06-20. Retrieved 2015-06-20.

[3] "Oklahoma City Museum of Art". Resource Library. Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc. 2009. Retrieved 2015-06-20.

[4] "Museum History". Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-06-20.

[about-5] Civic Center Music Hall Profile Archived 2010-10-15 at the Wayback Machine , About.com Archived 2007-07-02 at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 19, 2010).

[foundation-6] 1 2 Civic Center Foundation (accessed May 19, 2010).

[volunteers-7] Civic Center Volunteers (STARS) (accessed May 19, 2010).

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v t e National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
Arcadia	Arcadia Round Barn Arcadia Route 66 Roadbed Edward Richardson Building Tuton's Drugstore
Edmond	American Legion Hut Cartmill Farm House Citizens State Bank Edmond Armory Edmond Ice Company Gower Cemetery Hopewell Baptist Church Kivlehen House Old North The "Y" Chapel of Song
Jones	"Ringing the Wild Horse" Site Charles G. Jones Farmstead
Luther	Booher Site Engels' Dry Goods Store Threatt Filling Station
Midwest City	Quillin Site
Nichols Hills	Frank and Merle Buttram House and Grounds
Nicoma Park	Goodholm House
Oklahoma City	Automobile Alley Avery Building Bourne Dairy Braniff Building Cain's Coffee Building Calvary Baptist Church Capitol-Lincoln Terrace Historic District Carey Place Historic District Central High School Citizens Bank Tower Citizens State Bank Colcord Hotel Cotton-Exchange Building Crown Heights Historic District Czech Hall of Oklahoma City-Lodge Laska Dunbar Elementary School Edgemere Park Historic District Edwards Heights Historic District Edwards Historic District Edwards House Electric Transformer House Elks Lodge Elks Victory Lodge-Ruby's Grill Building Fairchild Winery Farmers Public Market Fidelity National Building Film Exchange Historic District First Christian Church First Christian Church Historic District First Church of Christ, Scientist First National Bank and Trust Company Building Gatewood East Historic District Hales Mansion Harbour-Longmire Building Harding Junior High School Harn House Haywood Building Heierding Building Heritage Hills Historic and Architectural District Hightower Building Journal Record Building Jefferson Park Historic District Jewel Theater J.I. Case Plow Works Building Kaiser's Ice Cream Parlour Kelley Club Kingman-More Building Lake Overholser Bridge Lake Overholser Dam Lincoln Park Bathhouse Lincoln Plaza Historic District Lincoln Terrace East Historic District Littlepage Building Luster House Mager Mortgage Company Building Magnolia Petroleum Building Main Public Library Main Street Arcade Maney Historic District The Mayfair Medical Arts Building Merchants Transfer and Storage Mesta Park Mid-Continent Life Building Mideke Supply Building Milk Bottle Grocery Miller-Jackson Building Miller's Boulevard Historic District Municipal Auditorium Mutual Savings and Loan Association Building North Hudson Historic District Norton-Johnson Buick Company Oklahoma City Discovery Well Oklahoma City Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant Oklahoma City Municipal Building Oklahoma City National Memorial Oklahoma City University Oklahoma County Courthouse Oklahoma County Home for Girls Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company Building Oklahoma Hardware Building Oklahoma Historical Society Building Oklahoma Publishing Company Building Oklahoma State Capitol Old Douglass High School Osler Building Overholser Mansion Paseo Neighborhood Historic District Pilgrim Congregational Church Pioneer Building Plaza Court Point 8 Site Pollock House Post Office, Courthouse, and Federal Office Building Putnam Heights Historic Preservation District Rock Island Plow Building St. Joseph's Cathedral St. Paul's Cathedral Santa Fe Depot Shepherd Historic District Sherman Machine and Iron Works Building Sieber Grocery and Apartment Hotel Sinopoulo House Skirvin Hotel Smith and Kernke Funeral Directors Spanish Village Historic District Spencer No. 2 Site Stanford Furniture Co. Building Stockyards City Historic District Sunshine Cleaners Taft Junior High School Tiffany House Town House Hotel Tradesman's National Bank Building Union Depot United Founders Tower Walcourt Building Weather Service Building Wells Fargo and Company Livery Stable Wesley Hospital Will Rogers Gardens
Spencer	Nagle Site
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma and List of National Historic Landmarks in Oklahoma

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NAIA national championships in bold

Construction


Address	201 North Walker Ave. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma United States
Coordinates	35°28′09″N97°31′24″W / 35.469041°N 97.523361°W / 35.469041; -97.523361
Type	Performing arts center
Capacity	Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre: 2,477 Freede Little Theatre: 286 CitySpace Theatre: 100
Opened	October 4, 1937
Architect	Hawk & Parr
Website
www.okcciviccenter.com