The San Jose Civic (formerly known as the San Jose Civic Auditorium and City National Civic) is a former arena, currently operating as a theatre, located in downtown

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

. The venue is owned by the City of San Jose, is managed by Team San Jose and is booked by Nederlander Concerts. The auditorium seats 3,036 which can be expanded up to 3,326 in a general admission setting.

History

The venue was created through a joint venture between the City of San Jose,

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recove ...

and local property owners Mr. and Mrs. T. S. Montgomery, who donated the property. The building was designed by Binder & Curtis, in the Spanish Colonial/ California Mission Revival style. The venue's naming rights were given to City National Bank in December 2013, with its original name being restored in May 2019. The west wing was a convention hall called "Parkside Hall". It opened on September 22, 1977, as the "San Jose Convention Center". It served as the city's main convention center until a new facility of the same name opened across the street in 1989. The building was demolished in 2009. A $25 million renovation of the venue (approved in 2007) was begun in 2009. A state-of-the-art sound and video system was installed, the building's floor was refurbished, an exterior lighting system was activated, and the loading dock was upgraded. Key improvements planned included a top-line interior lighting system, seating upgrades to replace the decades-old plastic molded chairs, more restrooms, and a new concessions program.

Naming history

*San Jose Municipal Auditorium *San Jose Civic Auditorium *City National Civic *San Jose Civic

Montgomery Theater

The "Montgomery Theater" is attached to the east side of the building. Seating 486, it is the primary home of the CMT San Jose.

Notable events

Many of the most popular entertainers and public figures have appeared at the venue creating memorable historic events since its opening in 1936.

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

appeared there during her first concert tour in 1963.

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and the Hawks played a famous show there on December 12, 1965, and

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

made a tape of it now held by the

Stanford University Libraries The Stanford University Libraries (SUL), formerly known as "Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources" ("SULAIR"), is the library system of Stanford University in California. It encompasses more than 24 libraries in all. Sev ...

. Earlier that year the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

played a concert there that was attended by Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters who electrified a party afterward reportedly attended by Stones members.

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

made national headlines during an anti-war demonstration at the San Jose Civic. It has presented major sporting events including boxing matches with champions such as

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...

and

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...

. The Civic hosted the final day of the GENESIS 3 '' Super Smash Bros.'' tournament in January 2016. It was the venue for the trampoline events of the inaugural World Games I in 1981.

External links

*
Hermanas Padilla 1935 Concert Poster

References

{{Authority control Theatres in San Jose, California Basketball venues in California Boxing venues in California Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Mixed martial arts venues in California Downtown San Jose Music venues in the San Francisco Bay Area Santa Clara Broncos basketball San Jose State Spartans men's basketball Sports venues in the San Francisco Bay Area Sports venues in San Jose, California Buildings and structures in San Jose, California Tourist attractions in Silicon Valley Buildings and structures completed in 1936 Sports venues completed in 1936 Music venues completed in 1936 Esports venues in California