Memorial Hall, or Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building, is a multi-purpose auditorium located in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

. The 3,500-seat auditorium, which has a permanent stage, is used for public assemblies, concerts and sporting events. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1985. It was designed by architects

Rose & Peterson Rose & Peterson was an architectural firm in Kansas City, Kansas. It was a partnership of William Warren Rose (1864–1931) and David Burton Peterson (1875–1937). Rose served as mayor of Kansas City during 1905–07, and accomplis ...

in Georgian style. With .

Establishment

This venue was built in 1923 then opened in 1925 as a combination civic auditorium and war memorial for

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

veterans.

Events

Many iconic rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s played here. During its September 11, 1972 concert at Memorial Hall,

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

performed its first Kansas City metro concert and new concept album, ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973, by Capitol Records in the US and on 16 March 1973, by Harvest Records in the UK. Developed during live performances before ...

'', five months before the record-setting album's release.

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American Rock music, rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial suc ...

recorded parts of their first live album, 1977's '' Live: You Get What You Play For,'' including the album's closing track, "Golden Country," at the venue on October 31, 1976. Side 4 of

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

's 1983 double-LP, '' Plays Live,'' including the songs "Shock the Monkey", "Humdrum", "On the Air", and "Biko", was recorded at Memorial Hall on December 4, 1982.

Roller Derby

Memorial hall is home to the 20+ year WFTDA sanctioned

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 ...

various roller derby teams. KCRW often hosts out of town and international roller derby teams from around the country and globe. The league is made up of 100+ volunteers consisting of KC metro and surrounding residents that volunteer their time, effort and passion to making KCRW a successful organization. Memorial Hall hosted some games of the

Kansas City Steers The Kansas City Steers were an American basketball team based in Kansas City, Missouri from 1961 to 1963. They were a member of the American Basketball League History The American Basketball League played one full season, 1961–1962, and ...

of the American Basketball League from 1961 to 1963.

Professional Wrestling

The earliest documented

Pro Wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

event at Memorial Hall took place on February 23, 1931 when Charlie Fischer defeated Billy Wolfe in 39 minutes. From the early 30's until the mid 1940's, Professional Wrestling ran twice a week all year long at Memorial Hall. From 1946- 1987, Professional Wrestling was held once a week, all year round.

Professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

was a Thursday-night tradition at the venue in the 1970s and 80's, presented by

Central States Wrestling Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc., operating as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebr ...

with

cards {{Redirect, CARDS, other uses, Cards (disambiguation){{!Cards The CARDS programme, of Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation, is the EU's main instrument of financial assistance to the Western Balkans, covering spec ...

often taped for the ''

All-Star Wrestling All Star Wrestling (ASW), also known as Super Slam Wrestling (SSW), is a British professional wrestling promotion founded by Brian Dixon in 1970 and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, i ...

'' telecast the following Sunday. After

Bob Geigel Robert Frederick Geigel (October 1, 1924 – October 30, 2014) was an American professional wrestling promoter and professional wrestler. He operated the Kansas City, Missouri-based Heart of America Sports Attractions promotion from 1963 to 19 ...

closed down his World Wrestling Alliance,

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

ran there five times between 1990 and 1997. On April 23, 2009, the movie "K.C. On The Mat: The History of Professional Wrestling in Kansas City," premiered at Memorial Hall. The documentary focuses heavily on the importance of Memorial Hall. Legends of the past like

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AW ...

Butch Reed Bruce Franklin Reed (July 11, 1954 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and football player, better known by the ring name Butch Reed. He played college football at the University of Central Missouri, was a star in Mid-Sou ...

, Roger Kirby and

all attended the premier.

Other Events

The Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools district holds an annual convocation for staff at the venue each August. All district staff are present for this event.

Notable Concerts and Events

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

played with

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...

and Jawbreaker on 10/21/93 February 2, 1989, the World Wrestling Alliance and

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

partnered in presenting "The International Bash" featuring the only match ever between the

Rock 'n' Roll Express The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson (wrestler), Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Universal Wrest ...

and

The British Bulldogs The British Bulldogs were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid. They competed throughout the 1980s in Britain, North America and Japan and have consistently ranked among the top tag teams i ...

. The two teams wrestled to a thirty minute draw with former NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor serving as special referee.

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

played May 17, 1984 as part of their

Shout at the Devil ''Shout at the Devil'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on September 26, 1983. It was the band's breakthrough album, establishing Mötley Crüe as one of the top selling heavy metal acts of the 198 ...

tour

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

defeated

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance ...

to win the

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professiona ...

for his first time on September 17, 1981 The

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

played seven times between 1972 and 1979

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...

and

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

played on September 20, 1974

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

played two shows (6pm and 8pm) on June 14, 1970

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

played 2 Shows on November 5, 1969 (7:00pm & 9:30pm) with tickets costing $3.50, $4.50, and $5.50. Jon Bonham was tired by the 2nd show. He kept passing out at the drum kit, being held up at times by roadies.

Michael Hayes (wrestler) Michael Seitz (born March 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." ("Purely Sexy") Hayes and for his role as an announ ...

defeated

Buddy Roberts Dale Hey (June 16, 1947 – November 26, 2012) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buddy "Jack" Roberts. Primarily a tag team wrestler, Roberts is known for his appearances as one of The Hollywood Blon ...

in a

Steel cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

on July 16, 1988.

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

, and others played three "standing room only" shows on March 3, 1963. This would be Patsy Cline’s final performance as she died in an airplane crash 2 days later.

References

{{Authority control National Register of Historic Places in Wyandotte County, Kansas Georgian architecture in Kansas Buildings and structures in Kansas City, Kansas Landmarks in Kansas Music venues completed in 1925 Music venues in Kansas Sports venues completed in 1925 Sports venues in Kansas Tourist attractions in Wyandotte County, Kansas Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, Kansas City 1925 establishments in Kansas