Keller Auditorium

Keller Auditorium
Portland Municipal Auditorium, Portland Public Auditorium, Portland Civic Auditorium

Front of Keller Auditorium, on Third Avenue
Address 222 SW Clay Avenue
Portland, Oregon, 97205
United States
Coordinates 45°30′45″N 122°40′43″W / 45.512583°N 122.678565°W / 45.512583; -122.678565Coordinates: 45°30′45″N 122°40′43″W / 45.512583°N 122.678565°W / 45.512583; -122.678565
Owner City of Portland
Operator Portland's Centers for the Arts
Type performing arts center
Capacity 2,992
Opened 1917
Website
www.portland5.com

Keller Auditorium, formerly known as the Portland Municipal Auditorium, the Portland Public Auditorium, and the Portland Civic Auditorium, is a performing arts center located on Clay Street in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Portland's Centers for the Arts. Opened in 1917, the venue first changed names in 1966, being renamed again in 2000 in honor of a $1.5 million renovation donation by Richard B. Keller.[1][2]

Originally holding 4,500 people, the venue now has a capacity of 2,992.[2]

The Keller Auditorium is the home of many performances of the Portland Opera and the Oregon Ballet Theatre. Previously, it was the longtime home of the Portland Symphony Orchestra (now the Oregon Symphony), from 1917 to 1984.

History

The building's original appearance, before its extensive 1967–68 remodeling. The Third Street (now Third Avenue) façade is on the left.

The auditorium building occupies an entire city block in downtown Portland, specifically the block bounded by Third and Second Avenues and Clay and Market Streets. It was constructed in 1916–17, but an extensive remodeling and modernization in 1967–68 effectively changed its appearance beyond recognition. It was originally known as the Public Auditorium, or alternatively as the Municipal Auditorium. The facility's formal opening and dedication took place on July 4, 1917,[3] and the first full concert took place the following day, with what was dubbed the first annual Portland "Music Festival", featuring the Portland Symphony Orchestra (now the Oregon Symphony).[4]

In 1967–68, by which time it had been renamed Civic Auditorium, the building underwent an extensive remodeling, which included replacement of its entire original exterior with a new modern-style exterior, at a cost of $4 million.[5] It reopened in May 1968.[6]

Notable events

President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered a campaign speech on October 18, 1956 at the auditorium.[7] Then-Senator John F. Kennedy spoke at the auditorium on September 7, 1960.[8] Led Zeppelin performed at the auditorium on December 29, 1968 during their first North American concert tour.

Reception

In June 1970, Ada Louise Huxtable called the redesigned auditorium "a building of unrelieved blandness".[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "PCPA History". Portland Center for the Performing Arts. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  2. 1 2 "Venue information and background". www.ledzeppelin-database.com. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  3. ↑ "Auditorium Will Be Opened Today". The Oregonian. July 4, 1917. p. 16. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  4. ↑ "Festival Charms City Music Lovers; Oratorio Opens New Auditorium". The Oregonian. July 5, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  5. ↑ "New Auditorium Shows Off Her Brightest Face". The Oregonian. March 30, 1968. p. 18.
  6. ↑ "Auditorium Veneer Peels; Builder Blames Gluing Failure". The Oregonian. February 13, 1969. Section 2, p. 24.
  7. ↑ "256 - Address at the Civic Auditorium in Portland, Oregon.". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  8. ↑ "Excerpts from a Speech Delivered by Senator John F. Kennedy, Civic Auditorium, Portland, OR". Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  9. ↑ Huxtable, Ada Louise (June 21, 1970). "Coast Fountain Melds Art and Environment". New York Times. p. 53. Retrieved 2010-03-21.

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