Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium

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Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Location:	McCallie Ave. Chattanooga, Tennessee
Architect:	Reuben Harrison Hunt
Architectural style(s):	Classical Revival
Added to NRHP:	September 15, 1980
NRHP Reference#:	80003823
MPS:	Reuben H. Hunt Buildings in Hamilton County TR

The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium is an historic performance hall in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Built between 1922 and 1924, at a cost of $700,000 and designed by noted architect R. H. Hunt, the theatre honors area veterans of World War I.

The building, located at 399 McCallie Avenue is about halfway between downtown and the UT Chattanooga campus. It occupies half of the city block bounded by McCallie Avenue, Lindsay Street, Oak Street and Georgia Avenue.

The Auditorium building actually contains two theatres. The lower one seats 3,866 and the upper one seats 1,012. There is also a small trade show/convention hall in the basement that measures 9,600 square feet.

By the early 1960s, Memorial Auditorium had fallen into disrepair. The building was closed down in 1965 and after renovations, reopened the following year. The Auditorium closed again in 1988 for further restoration and modernization. The repairs cost over $7 million, and Memorial Auditorium reopened in 1991.

In 1975, the Auditorium's board of directors found itself at the United States Supreme Court, as they had been sued by the producers of the musical Hair who were denied permission to stage their show. See Southeastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Conrad 420 U.S. 546. Justice Harry Blackmun, writing for the court, held that the prohibition on staging the musical was an illegal prior restraint.

For over 80 years, this venue has hosted religious festivals, political rallies, debutante galas, opera, musicals and concerts. It continues to be an important cultural attraction for the city, and a key part of its history. In July, 2007, the Auditorium's historic concert pipe organ, dating all the way back to the building's earliest beginnings, was rededicated after the successful completion of a restoration effort by the Chattanooga Music Club that took place over a period of 21 years. Efforts are now underway to insure this historic instrument's continued use and preservation in the years ahead.