Aberdeen's Auditorium Opened November 1938

What do all of the people below and the Aberdeen CHS class of 1966 have in common?

Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Gene Autry, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Jesse Owens, Ted Williams, Louis Armstrong, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Nat King Cole, Neil Diamond, Kingston Trio, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Dolly Parton, John Denver, REO Speedwagon, The Carpenters, Three Dog Night, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Charlie Daniels, Ricky Skaggs, Paul Revere and the Raiders, B. J. Thomas, The Lettermen, Gary Puckett and our very own "The New Group."

The opening of Aberdeen’s new auditorium in November of 1938 gave the city a place to host large gatherings for the first time in 36 years after a 1902 fire had destroyed the Grain Palace.

In 1934 the American Legion urged city officials to consider building an auditorium to make Aberdeen

Aberdeen Grain Palace 1883

more competitive as a convention site. In 1935 city officials prepared a Public Works Administration (PWA) application for an auditorium; it was denied. During the next two years, local officials worked to keep hopes for the auditorium alive. Finally, in 1937, organizers invited Aberdeen’s school officials to become involved, suggesting a new joint-use facility would provide much-needed additional space for student activities.

The school board became eager partners and agreed to sponsor a $150,000 bond issue for the project, which voters approved in a special election. Soon a second PWA application was prepared, submitted,

and approved. The auditorium project received a $135,000 grant and a $165,000 loan from the PWA.

The site for this facility was school-owned property adjacent to the high school. Site preparation began January 11, 1938. On May 31, students and school officials held an impromptu ceremony to lay the building’s cornerstone. By the following November, the auditorium was complete and ready for use. During the summer months,

workers remodeled the school’s old auditorium, which became the school library.

The Aberdeen school board planned a week-long open house to showcase the new facility. They invited people within a 50-mile radius to enjoy all the events during “Auditorium Week,” November 6-13, 1938. More than 11,000 people attended. A dedication program preceded the tour schedule to

recognize the efforts of those involved. Fifty-six years prior, in 1882, F.H. Hagerty and William Lloyd had donated a city block between South Washington and Jay Streets as the site for Aberdeen’s first schoolhouse. In 1911, Aberdeen Central High School replaced the original school on that property, which was adjacent to the new auditorium.

The design of the theater included an ample stage area and seating for 1,600. Colors used in the décor

were ultramarine blue, brown and gray. It was equipped with a Hammond electric organ, a Steinway concert grand piano, and a projection machine. Its potential uses included general high school assemblies, dramatic productions, grand opera and other musical productions.

The auditorium/arena balconies offered seating for about 2,000 spectators, and its open floor space, when set with chairs, provided another 3,200 seats. The massive floor was ideal for basketball games, conventions, automobile and machinery exhibits, indoor circuses, and community dances.

1950 Graduation at Civic Arena

The Aberdeen-Civic Auditorium was the first facility in the country built in a city the size of Aberdeen

Civic Theater

(17,000) to serve both the schools and the community. Even after the Aberdeen Public School system built a new high school on the south edge of town many years later, the Civic Arena and Theater continue to serve Aberdeen and the surrounding communities with events, sports, and the Yeldez Shrine Circus every April.