Kiel Auditorium was an

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

located in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. It was the home of the St. Louis University basketball team and hosted the

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St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, from 1955 to 1968. The site was home to

Charles H. Turpin Charles H. Turpin (died 1935) was a constable filmmaker, theater owner, and judge in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1910, he became the first African American elected to city-wide office in St. Louis. A legal dispute contested his estate. He was born in ...

's Booker T. Washington Theater where performers included his brother

Tom Turpin Thomas Million John Turpin (November 18, 1871 – August 13, 1922) was an African American composer of ragtime music. Tom Turpin was born in Savannah, Georgia, a son of John L. Turpin and Lulu Waters Turpin. In his early twenties he opened a sal ...

. The new municipal arena that replaced it was completed in 1934, at a cost of $6 million, seated 9,300 and was built by Fruin-Colnon Construction. It was originally named the Municipal Auditorium, but was renamed in honor of former St. Louis Mayor

Henry Kiel Henry W. Kiel (February 21, 1871 – November 26, 1942) was the 32nd Mayor of Saint Louis, serving from 1913 to 1925. Early life Henry W. Kiel's father was Henry F. Kiel, a well known contractor, who died in 1908. Henry F. Kiel also serve ...

in 1943. A unique feature of the auditorium was that it was split into two; the front of the building was the Kiel Opera House. It was possible to use both sides at once as the stages were back to back. President

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

gave a speech there in which both sides were opened to see his speech. The Kiel Auditorium replaced the St. Louis Coliseum as the city's main indoor arena. In 1955, the auditorium was also the venue for the second international conference of

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...

, which established the service conference structure for the movement. Kiel Auditorium played host to a variety of concerts and wrestling events, from the 1950s, until its closure in 1991. In

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, it was the host of the

Miss Universe Pageant Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

. From the 1950s until the 1970s, the Kiel Auditorium was behind only

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

as North America's most famous wrestling arena, hosting three

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

title changes from 1959 until 1986. The most notable wrestling event that took place at the Kiel Auditorium was WCW's premier event, Starrcade 1990. The building was demolished in 1992, but not before hosting the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

men's basketball tournament the preceding year. After its demolition, its games and concerts temporarily went to the

St. Louis Arena St. Louis Arena (known as the Checkerdome from 1977 to 1983) was an indoor arena in St. Louis, Missouri. The country's second-largest indoor entertainment venue when it opened in 1929, it was home to the St. Louis Blues and other sports franchis ...

. The

Enterprise Center The Enterprise Center is an 18,096-seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Its primary tenant is the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, but it is also used for other functions, such as NCAA basketball, NC ...

(originally named "Kiel Center", then "Savvis Center", then "Scottrade Center", before the current

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

were purchased) now stands on the site of the former Kiel Auditorium. The Opera House portion of the building, on the northern part of the property, facing Market Street, was not torn down. It remained vacant for a while, but was renovated and reopened under the name Peabody Opera House in 2011. It is now known as the

Stifel Theatre The Stifel Theatre (originally known as the Municipal Opera House and formerly the Kiel Opera House and Peabody Opera House) is a civic performing arts building located in St. Louis, Missouri. About the venue Founded as the "Kiel Opera House" (i ...

References

External links

{{Authority control 1934 establishments in Missouri 1991 disestablishments in Missouri Basketball venues in St. Louis Defunct boxing venues in the United States Sports venues demolished in 1992 Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Defunct indoor arenas in the United States Former National Basketball Association venues Demolished music venues in the United States Demolished sports venues in Missouri Saint Louis Billikens basketball venues Sports venues completed in 1934 Atlanta Hawks venues Demolished buildings and structures in St. Louis