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Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium

Introduction

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The last publicly-commissioned building by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium is named in honor of a former university president. Groundbreaking for the auditorium took place on May 23, 1962, followed by 25 months of construction. The building opened both on-time and under-budget in 1964 with a performance of the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

Images

Gammage Auditorium

Gammage Auditorium

ASU President Henry Grady Gammage (1933-1959). Courtesy of ASU

ASU President Henry Grady Gammage (1933-1959). Courtesy of ASU

Interior of Auditorium as seen from stage. Courtesy of ASU

Interior of Auditorium as seen from stage. Courtesy of ASU

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright

Backstory and Context

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The auditorium is named for Dr. Grady Gammage, President of Arizona State University (ASU) from 1933 to 1959. The auditorium is located on the main campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, at the crossroads of Mill Avenue and Apache Boulevard.

The structure measures 300 feet long by 250 feet wide by 80 feet high. Fifty concrete columnns support the round roof with its pattern of interlocking circles. Twin "flying buttress" pedestrian ramps extending 200 feet from the north and east sides of the structure connect the building to the parking lot. The auditorium seats a total of 3,017 people pop on its main floor, grand tier and balcony. The stage can be adapted for grand opera, Broadway musicals, dramatic productions, solo productions, organ recitals and lectures.

Sources

1. "ASU Gammage Memorial Auditorium home page," accessed August 18, 2016. http://www.asugammage.com/ 2. Richard Schultz, "Valley Landmark Turns 50," Echomag.com, August 2014, accessed August 18, 2016. http://echomag.com/valley-landmark-turns-50/ 3. "Gammage Memorial Auditorium," Wikipedia, accessed August 18, 2016. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gammage_Memorial_Auditorium 4. "Grady Gammage, 1926-1933," Condensed from Platt Cline, Mountain Campus: The Story of Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff: Northland Press, 1983), chapter V. Accessed August 18, 2016. http://library.nau.edu/speccoll/exhibits/first100/pres/gammage.html 5. "History: ASU Gammage from the beginning," accessed August 18, 2016. http://www.asugammage.com/about/history

Additional Information