Municipal Auditorium is a multi-purpose facility located in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

. It opened in 1935 and features

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial desig ...

and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

architecture and architectural details.

Background

Municipal Auditorium was the first building built as part of the "Ten-Year Plan", a bond program that passed by a 4 to 1 margin in 1931. The campaign was run by the Civic Improvement Committee chaired by Conrad H. Mann. Other buildings in the plan included the

Kansas City City Hall Kansas City City Hall is the official seat of government for the city of Kansas City, Missouri. Located in downtown, it is a 29-story skyscraper with an observation deck. Completed in 1937, the building has a Beaux-Arts and Art-Deco style with ...

and the Kansas City branch of the Jackson County Courthouse. The plan was championed by most local politicians including Thomas Pendergast and provided Pendergast with many patronage opportunities during the Great Depression. Municipal Auditorium replaced

Convention Hall Convention Hall was a convention center in Kansas City, Missouri that hosted the 1900 Democratic National Convention and 1928 Republican National Convention. It was designed by Frederick E. Hill and built at the corner of 13th and Central and cos ...

which was directly across the street and was torn down for parking to create what is now called the Barney Allis Plaza. The

streamline moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial desig ...

architecture was designed by the lead architectural firm of Alonzo H. Gentry, Voskamp & Neville. Gentry later completed the design of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum after the death of the original architect, Edward F. Neild. Homer F. Neville was the lead designer for Municipal Auditorium.

Hoit, Price & Barnes Hoit, Price & Barnes was a prominent Kansas City architectural firm in the early 20th century. It designed several skyscrapers and mansions including three of the current ten tallest buildings in Kansas City; the Kansas City Power and Light Bui ...

, the associated architects were responsible for the design of the mechanical work (HVAC, electrical, plumbing). William L. Cassell directed that design effort. Cassell went on to start his own firm in 1933 which is still in business as W. L. Cassell & Associates, Inc.

Henry F. McElroy Henry F. McElroy (1865–1939) was the first City Manager of Kansas City, Missouri. He held this position during the era of political boss Tom Pendergast. Life and Work Henry Francis McElroy was born on April 17, 1865 in Amboy, Illinois, less th ...

, the choice of

Tom Pendergast Thomas Joseph Pendergast (July 22, 1872 – January 26, 1945), also known as T. J. Pendergast, was an American political boss who controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri, from 1925 to 1939. Pendergast only briefly held elected ...

and other Democratic leaders to be City Manager, announced on January 5, 1932, that the architectural services for Municipal Auditorium would be divided between the firm of Gentry, Voskamp & Neville and the firm of Hoit, Price & Barnes. In addition, Gentry's firm would take the lead. The decision was controversial and led to lengthy contract negotiations. Gentry's firm was much smaller, while Hoit, Price & Barnes were known for their work in designing the

Kansas City Power and Light Building The Kansas City Power and Light Building (also called the KCP&L Building and the Power and Light Building) is a landmark skyscraper located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It was constructed by Kansas City Power and Light in 1931 as a way to p ...

, an

skyscraper completed in 1931; the 32-story Fidelity Bank Building at

909 Walnut 909 Walnut (formerly Fidelity National Bank & Trust Building, Federal Office Building and 911 Walnut) is a twin-spired, 35-story, residential skyscraper in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It was Missouri's tallest apartment building until the con ...

; Corinthian Hall; and many more Kansas City buildings and residences. Municipal Auditorium, however, was a public project and Gentry, whose father had been a prominent Democratic politician in Independence, was the preference of the Pendergast machine. According to Neville, there was little interference with the building's design. When the building opened in 1935, the

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. "The Record," as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important historical record of the unfolding debates in a ...

called it "one of the 10 best buildings of the world that year". In 2000, the Princeton Architectural Press called it one of the 500 most important architectural works in the United States. Municipal Auditorium is connected to the H. Roe Bartle Convention Center via skywalks over 14th and Central streets. An underground walkway through a public parking garage provides access to the Kansas City Marriott Downtown, and the Holiday Inn Aladdin Hotel. Municipal Auditorium Architecture Team (cropped)

Municipal Auditorium Architecture Team (cropped)

Arena

The Arena, nicknamed "Municipal", has hosted the

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Its fourteen me ...

tournament annually, each March since 2003. When Kansas City hosts the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

tournament, women's games take place here. It is currently home to the NAIA Men's Division I Basketball National Tournament. It was played here from

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, when it moved into Kemper Arena, and has been home since the Tournament moved back to Kansas City from Tulsa in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. The arena hosted three of the first four Final Fours, and hosted its last NCAA tournament game in 1964. In 2013, the

University of Dayton Arena University of Dayton Arena (commonly known as UD Arena) is a 13,409-seat multi-purpose arena located in Dayton, Ohio. The arena opened in 1969. It is home to the University of Dayton Flyers basketball teams. From 2001 to 2010, the facility hos ...

passed Municipal Auditorium in number of games hosted as that arena hosts the opening round games of the NCAA tournament. The 19,500-seat

Kemper Arena The Hy-Vee Arena, previously known as Kemper Arena, is an indoor arena located in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to conversion to a youth sports and community gymnasium facility, Kemper Arena was previously a 19,500-seat professional sports arena ...

was built in 1974 to accommodate Kansas City's professional basketball teams that had been playing at the Auditorium. The

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the olde ...

(known at the time as the Kansas City-Omaha Kings) played their first two seasons at the Auditorium, then returned for the majority of the 1979–80 season after the roof of Kemper Arena caved in on June 4, 1979. On November 13, 1979,

Darryl Dawkins Darryl R. Dawkins (January 11, 1957 – August 27, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He was particularly known for his tenure with the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, although he als ...

of the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

completely shattered a backboard during a game vs. the Kings with a thunderous

slam dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one ...

. It is home to the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

Kangaroos

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team. Since January 2009, it has been the home of the

Kansas City Roller Warriors The Kansas City Roller Warriors (KCRW) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Kansas City, Kansas that was founded in 2004. The members of the league are split into four home teams that play within the league and two travel teams tha ...

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...

league. The 2013 $5 million renovation included new video boards, LED scorer's table, sound system, lighting, electrical upgrades, and lower-level seating.

Music Hall

The Kansas City Music Hall is a large

proscenium theatre A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

with a striking Streamline Modern interior that seats an audience of 2,400 patrons. The hall presents touring

Broadway show Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

s, as well as visiting symphony orchestras,

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

companies, and other events. It was the main hall of the Kansas City Philharmonic for several decades. It's also the home of the 1927 Robert-Morton Theatre Pipe Organ that originally was in the

Midland Theatre The Midland Theatre is a 3,000-seat theater located in the Power & Light District of Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The National Collegiate Athletic Association under Walter Byers had its headquarters in the building from the 1950s until ...

. The organ is owned and maintained by Kansas City Theatre Pipe Organ, Inc.

Little Theatre

The Little Theatre is an elegant octagonal

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic ...

with a capacity for 400, or banquet seating for 225 available for catered events, and a private balcony room for up to 36 guests.

Gallery

File:Spring Break 08 074.jpg, An example of the Art Deco details found throughout Municipal Auditorium. File:Municipal Auditorium Little Theatre foyer.jpg, Foyer of
Little Theatre. File:Municipal Auditorium art deco chandelier.jpg, Art deco chandelier in Music Hall. File:Municipal Auditorium Little Theatre bas-relief.jpg, Wall decoration in
Little Theatre. File:Municipal Auditorium Medallion Kansas City.jpg, Monumental Art Deco medallion on the front of Municipal Auditorium.

Sports succession history

References

{{Authority control College basketball venues in the United States Sports venues in Kansas City, Missouri Basketball venues in Missouri Kansas City Roos basketball Pendergast era Indoor soccer venues in Missouri Former National Basketball Association venues NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four venues Streamline Moderne architecture in Missouri American Basketball Association (2000–present) venues 1935 establishments in Missouri Continental Basketball Association venues Downtown Kansas City The Basketball League venues Sports venues in Missouri