The Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium is a performance venue in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

. Construction began in 1924 and the auditorium opened in November 1925, it seats about 5,000 people. Local architects Glenn Allen and Wright & Satterlee were awarded construction, while Stocktonians conducted bond drives to fund construction of the Memorial Auditorium to honor those who gave their lives while serving in the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

History

In October 1920, a bond election was held in order to obtain funds to invest in a site and construct of the Memorial Civic Auditorium. People had asked for the Auditorium to be built in order to honor of the Americans who served in

. Other reasons for the Auditorium included the necessity for a facility to provide community events. On July 23, 1924, a contract was accepted by the city of Stockton to build a Memorial Civic Auditorium. A total of $482,338 was used to fund the development of the building. Construction of the foundation and first floor began in either late 1924 or early 1925. The building was completed on November 4, 1925, and dedicated on

Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than di ...

later that year.

Architecture

The stage is underneath a proscenium style arch. The outside walls of the building are brick with cement plaster finish in imitation of Indiana limestone. The interior walls are brick, reinforced concrete or metal lath and plaster. The structural parts of the roof and balcony are reinforced concrete. The arena's hardwood floors are white maple over concrete sub-floor, and the roof is of "Armso" iron over felt.

Inscriptions

There is a phrase carved atop of the building which reads "''Tomorrow and Forever the People of Stockton Will Hold in Memory the Valor of Their Sons Who On Land and Sea, at Home and Abroad, Served Their Country in Defense of Liberty''" as a reference to the

veterans, along with those killed in action. Other inscriptions at the top of the exterior walls contain "To the men of Stockton, California who gave their lives in

Events

The Auditorium hosted the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

men's basketball tournament in 1976 and was home of the University Pacific Tigers men's basketball until 1982, the year the

Alex G. Spanos Center Alex G. Spanos Center is a 6,150-seat, indoor multi-purpose stadium on the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. The Alex G. Spanos Center opened on September 9, 1981, and was constructed for over $7 million. It i ...

opened. (The Spanos Center has since been succeeded by

Stockton Arena Stockton Arena is an indoor arena in Stockton, California. It opened in December 2005 and seats a maximum of 12,000 fans. It is the home venue of the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. Former tenants include the Stockton Heat of the American ...

as Stockton's premiere indoor venue) The facility has hosted numerous concerts over the years including

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

, Rush, and

Blue Oyster Cult Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ob ...

. The

Golliwogs The golliwog, also spelled golliwogg or shortened to golly, is a doll-like character – created by cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton – that appeared in children's books in the late 19th century, usually depicted as a type of rag ...

played at the auditorium in 1966 and The

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

played 1/18/78 at the auditorium on their well-regarded west coast winter tour.

References

External links

visitstockton.org
College basketball venues in the United States Basketball venues in California Pacific Tigers basketball {{California-sports-venue-stub