The McIntire Amphitheatre is a Greek-style outdoor theater at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. Established in 1921 with a $120,000 gift from benefactor and University alum

Paul Goodloe McIntire Paul Goodloe McIntire (1860–1952) was an American stockbroker, investor, and philanthropist from Virginia. He served on the Chicago and New York Stock Exchanges. He was a generous donor to the University of Virginia and its home, the city of ...

, it is now used for a variety of outdoor gatherings including concerts, speakers, and other events.

History

Paul Goodloe McIntire contributed several sizable gifts to the University of Virginia in the early 1920s. Along with gifts to establish the

McIntire School of Commerce The McIntire School of Commerce is the University of Virginia's undergraduate business school and graduate business school for Commerce, Global Commerce, Accounting, Management of Information Technology, and Business Analytics. It was founded in ...

and the McIntire Department of Music, he contributed $120,000 to fund the amphitheatre. The theatre was part of an existing plan, drafted starting in 1911 by

Warren H. Manning Warren Henry Manning (November 7, 1860–February 5, 1938) was an American landscape designer and promoter of the informal and naturalistic "wild garden" approach to garden design. In his designs, Manning emphasized pre-existing flora through a ...

, as part of a master plan for a new quadrangle including Common Hall (now

Garrett Hall Garrett Hall or The Garrett is a former manor house and now a grade II Listed building, listed farmhouse in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, England. The hall was designated a grade II listed building in 1987. History The Garrett was the home and e ...

) and

Minor Hall Minor Hall (March 2, 1897 – October 16, 1959), better known as Ram Hall, At the time it was built, the amphitheatre was only the seventh Greek-style outdoor theatre in the United States. The amphitheatre was designed by

Fiske Kimball Sidney Fiske Kimball (1888 – 1955) was an American architect, architectural historian and museum director. A pioneer in the field of historic preservation, architectural preservation in the United States, he played a leading part in the re ...

, who also supervised the building of Memorial Gymnasium and the campus of the

Woodberry Forest School Woodberry Forest School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Woodberry Forest, Madison County, Virginia, in the United States. Woodberry's current enrollment is 405. Students come from 28 U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia ...

. It was first used as the site of the 1921 commencement and the celebration of the university's centennial. It was the site of commencements until the mid-1940s. The amphitheatre was less used in the mid-20th century and was threatened with demolition in the 1960s. During the 1970s, the grassy portion was converted to a parking space. This was converted back in the 1980s as the space became used again for outdoor performances, including visits from hypnotist Tom DeLuca, a 1991 concert for first-years by the

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...

featuring

Boyd Tinsley Boyd Calvin Tinsley (born May 16, 1964) is an American violinist and mandolinist who is best known for having been a member of the Dave Matthews Band. Early life Tinsley was raised in a musical family. His father was a choir director and his un ...

's first appearance with the group, and an album release concert for the Dave Matthews Band's ''

Under the Table and Dreaming ''Under the Table and Dreaming'' is the debut studio album from Dave Matthews Band, released on September 27, 1994. The album's first single was "What Would You Say", featuring John Popper of Blues Traveler on harmonica. Two other singles from th ...

''. In the 1990s, the visual aspect of the amphitheatre changed as the row of maples that previously served as the backdrop was blocked from view by the construction of

Bryan Hall Bryan Hall may refer to: * Bryan Hall (sportscaster) (born 1934), Canadian radio presenter * Bryan Hall (gridiron football) (born 1988), American football linebacker * Bryan Hall (Gainesville, Florida), a historic building in Gainesville, Florida, ...

. The amphitheatre is still used for large public gatherings. In recent years, it has notably been the site of vigils for slain UVa lacrosse player Yeardley Love and for the victims of the

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

mass shooting, as well as for addresses by celebrities including UVa alum

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

Organ

As built, the amphitheatre included an outdoor organ in a chamber to the left of the amphitheatre stage. The organ, designed by

M.P. Möller Mathias Peter Møller, commonly known as M.P. Möller or Moeller (29 September 1854 – 13 April 1937), was a prolific pipe-organ builder and businessman. A native of the Danish island of Bornholm, he emigrated to the United States in 1872 and fou ...

, was constructed explicitly for "open air" use. According to a booklet published by the builder:

One wing of the stage group was constructed to house the organ. This concrete chamber is divided into four separate sections or sub-chambers. Two of these house the organ proper. The openings, for tone egress, are filled with bronze screens, back of which are the expression shutters for the various departments, and, in addition, there have been provided rolling steel shutters to fully protect the organ from the weather. In a third room is located the large electric blower ... to which is directly connected the low voltage compound electric generator which produces the current for the organ action ... The console, or keyboard, is of movable type, permanently mounted, together with the player's bench, on a special platform on rollers ... When the organ is not in use, the entire console unit is housed in the fourth chamber.

The specifications of the organ were jointly designed by the builder and by Arthur Fickenscher. Reports from university faculty indicate that the organ could be heard "a mile away" and that it was designed for playing loud music, many of the traditional quieter stops not being included in its construction. The organ was still in use and playable in the early 1960s, but the organ and console had sustained damage due to mismanagement of the weather shutters. In the early 1980s the organ was removed and presumably destroyed.

Physical plan and location

The McIntire Amphitheatre is located to the south and west of

The Lawn The Lawn, a part of Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village, is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jefferson's academic community at the University of Virginia. The Lawn and its surrounding buildings, designed by Jefferson, dem ...

. It is bordered on the east by Cocke Hall, to the west by

Minor Hall Minor Hall (March 2, 1897 – October 16, 1959), better known as Ram Hall,Garrett Hall Garrett Hall or The Garrett is a former manor house and now a grade II Listed building, listed farmhouse in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, England. The hall was designated a grade II listed building in 1987. History The Garrett was the home and e ...

and the West Range and gardens, and to the south by

. The amphitheatre has a 60-foot stage backed by a neoclassical structure that once contained the outdoor organ and now houses offices for the UVa Facilities Management team. A semicircular grass patch, surrounded by gravel, faces the stage, and is surrounded by concrete steps offering seating for approximately 1,500 people. A sidewalk surrounds the steps, from which steps ascend to Minor Hall and Garrett Hall.

References

{{Coord, 38.03363, -78.50576, type:landmark_region:US-VA, display=title University of Virginia Buildings of the University of Virginia School buildings completed in 1921 1921 establishments in Virginia Amphitheaters in the United States