Norfolk Municipal Auditorium

Norfolk Municipal Auditorium
Construction
Norfolk Arena

Coordinates	36°51′30″N 76°17′23″W / 36.85833°N 76.28972°W / 36.85833; -76.28972
Owner	City of Norfolk
Operator	City of Norfolk
Capacity	3,000
Opened	1943
Closed	1993
Construction cost	$543,000
Tenants
William & Mary Indians (alternate)

Norfolk Municipal Auditorium was a 5,200 seat multi-purpose arena and music venue in Norfolk, Virginia, USA that opened in May 1943. The arena was constructed after the City of Norfolk and the military found a need to construct an entertainment venue in the city after the population of the city doubled between 1938 and 1941 as a result of World War II-related military buildup.^[1]

The building remains standing but has been converted into a storage and administrative facility for the adjoining Harrison Opera House.

History

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Construction

[edit]

The building was constructed with combined funds from the City of Norfolk, who gave $245,000, and the Military, who allocated $278,000 from the Federal War Fund. The building, designed by architect Clarence Neff, contained a 3,000-person auditorium and sports arena and a 1,800-person theater.

The City of Norfolk took full ownership of the facility in 1947.

Operation

[edit]

The venue was host to a large variety of events: trade shows, conventions, industry events, concerts, high school and college graduations, plays, and the television studios of the predecessor to WTKR. Elvis Presley was one prominent act to play at the Norfolk Auditorium.

The venue also served as the alternate home to the William & Mary Indians basketball team; the Indians (now known as the Tribe) usually played one or two home games a year in Norfolk (away from their usual home at Blow Gymnasium in Williamsburg).

Decline and renovation

[edit]

The building began to fall out of use with the opening of the modern Norfolk Scope Arena in 1971. William & Mary stopped playing games in Norfolk and Old Dominion University (formerly known as the College of William and Mary in Norfolk) began playing its basketball games at the ODU Fieldhouse on its campus.

Nonetheless, the building saw a massive renovation in 1993 in order for the Virginia Opera, which was founded in 1974 by a group of community leaders organized by Edythe Harrison, to make use of the auditorium's Center Theater. The renovation, which cost around $10 million, added "a dynamic new facade, a three story grand lobby with floor to ceiling windows, glittering chandeliers, and an enclosed elegant staircase to the grand foyer and balcony levels." The theater-portion of the theater, with a new seating capacity of 1,632, was henceforth known as the Harrison Opera House.

Current status

[edit]

The old gymnasium and arena, which is still visibly attached to the back of the renovated Opera House, is no longer in use and now serves as a storage and construction area for the Virginia Opera as well as the location for the Opera's administrative offices.

References

[edit]

^ "Norfolk Memorial Auditorium". Scotty Moore. 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2016.

v t e William & Mary Tribe men's basketball
Venues	Blow Gymnasium (1925–1971) Norfolk Municipal Auditorium (alternate; 1952–1965) Kaplan Arena (1971–present)
Rivalries	Old Dominion
Culture & lore	Colonel Ebirt Griffin Hershberger Award hoax Scandal of 1951
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e William & Mary Tribe women's basketball
Venues	Blow Gymnasium (1925–1971) Norfolk Municipal Auditorium (alternate; 1952–1965) Kaplan Arena (1971–present)
Rivalries	Old Dominion
Culture & lore	Griffin Colonel Ebirt
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e City of Norfolk, Virginia
Topics	Downtown History Timeline Neighborhoods Culture People Sports Media Economy Elizabeth River
Attractions	Attucks Theatre Chrysler Hall Chrysler Museum of Art Harbor Park Harrison Opera House MacArthur Memorial Nauticus Norfolk Botanical Garden Norfolk Scope Virginia Zoo Waterside Wells Theatre Mermaids
Military	Naval Station Norfolk Camp Allen Fort Norfolk Joint Forces Staff College Lambert's Point Deperming Station
Transportation	Norfolk International Airport Norfolk Train Station Tide Light Rail
Education	Norfolk Public Schools Granby HS Lake Taylor HS Matthew Fontaine Maury HS Norview HS Booker T. Washington HS Governor's School for the Arts Norfolk State University Old Dominion University
Media	The Virginian-Pilot (headquartered in Norfolk prior to 2020)
See also: Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area, Virginia Category

v t e Music venues of Virginia
Outdoor venues	Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion Blue Ridge Music Center Brown's Island Jiffy Lube Live Meadow Event Park Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
Theaters and clubs	Altria Theater The Birchmere Byrd Theatre Carter Family Fold The Coffee Pot Harrison Opera House Jammin' Java JV's Restaurant Little Grill Collective National Theater The NorVa Palace Theatre State Theatre
Arenas	Atlantic Union Bank Center Berglund Center Cassell Coliseum Chartway Arena EagleBank Arena Hampton Coliseum Hampton Convocation Center John Paul Jones Arena Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall Kaplan Arena Norfolk Scope Salem Civic Center Siegel Center Vines Center
Festival sites	FloydFest Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival Something in the Water
Historical venues	Richmond Coliseum Trax

Norfolk Municipal Auditorium

History

Construction

Operation

Decline and renovation

Current status

See also

References

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