Milwaukee Theatre

The Milwaukee Theatre (originally Milwaukee Auditorium^[1]) is a theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The building was extensively renovated from 2001-2003, at which point it received its current name.^[2] It seats 4,086 people and can be configured into a more intimate venue that seats 2,500.^[3] It is located at 500 W. Kilbourn Avenue in downtown Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Auditorium

The Milwaukee Auditorium was built in 1909, in a place formerly occupied by the Milwaukee Industrial Exposition Building, which had been destroyed by fire in 1905. The Milwaukee Auditorium held 13,520 people, and had 104,952 square feet (9,750.4 m²) of exhibition space.^[4] The cornerstone was laid on August 1, 1908, and the building was dedicated on September 21, 1909.^[5]

On October 14, 1912, former president and then current presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech at the Milwaukee Auditorium shortly after a failed assassination attempt that left him with a bullet in his chest. He was shot across the street from the Auditorium at the Gilpatrick Hotel by John Schrank, but declined to go to the hospital before giving his speech.^[6]

Milwaukee Theatre

Beginning in October 2001, the Auditorium was converted into a theater. The project, which cost $41.9 million, was completed on November 7, 2003.^[7]

Notable events

• President William Howard Taft - October 27, 1911^[8]
• Former President and Presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt - October 14, 1912 (Roosevelt shot before speech)
• President Woodrow Wilson - January 31, 1916
• Enrico Caruso - May 13, 1919
• John Phillip Sousa - November 8, 1924 and September 21, 1929
• Presidential candidate Wendell Willkie - March 27, 1944^[9]
• West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, June 15, 1956
• Liberace - August 2, 1957
• Van Cliburn - January 30, 1959
• Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy - October 23, 1960^[10]
• Martin Luther King, Jr. - April 27, 1964
• The Beach Boys - July 19, 1964, with The Kingsmen
• Johnny Cash - August 1, 1964 and October 29, 1973
• The Beatles - September 4, 1964^[11]
• The Rolling Stones - November 11, 1964, with The Ladybirds
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience - May 1, 1970, with Oz
• Neil Diamond - February 12, 1971, April 8, 1972 and October 31, 1998
• David Cassidy - April 7, 1972
• Elvis Presley - June 15, 1972
• Poco - November 22, 1972
• Uriah Heep - February 28, 1973, with Silverhead
• Jerry Lee Lewis - November 11, 1973
• Lou Reed - October 31, 1974
• The J. Geils Band - March 22, 1975
• Roxy Music - November 28, 1975, with Frank Zappa
• Foghat - December 5, 1975 and March 29, 1983, with Triumph
• Queen - March 1, 1976 and January 13, 1977, with Cheap Trick
• Blue Öyster Cult - September 30, 1976, with Rick Derringer and The Starz
• Jackson Browne - November 7, 1976
• Thin Lizzy - January 13, 1977
• KISS - February 1-2, 1977, with Uriah Heep
• Genesis - February 10, 1977
• Frank Zappa - September 27, 1977, November 25, 1980 and December 1, 1981
• Styx - December 30, 1977, with The Edgar Winter Group
• Rush - January 26, 1978, with The Pat Travers Band and April 17-19, 1980
• The Grateful Dead - February 4, 1978 and May 30, 1980
• Journey - May 15, 1979
• ABBA - September 29, 1979
• Jefferson Starship - December 4, 1979
• ZZ Top - March 4, 1980
• Utopia - March 25, 1980
• Gary Numan - October 28, 1980
• Phil Collins - February 3, 1983
• Elvis Costello - August 26, 1983, with The Attractions
• The Pretenders - August 18, 1984
• Dire Straits - August 2, 1985
• Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis - November 1, 1988^[12]
• President George H.W. Bush - June 17, 1991^[13]
• Pantera - January 10, 1997, with Clutch and Neurosis and January 31, 1998, with Anthrax and Coal Chamber
• Roger Waters - July 23, 1999
• Yes - November 13, 1999
• Presidential candidate George W. Bush - October 23, 2000^[14]
• Presidential candidate Ralph Nader - November 1, 2000^[15]
• Prince & The New Power Generation - November 18, 2000
• Kenny Rogers - November 25, 2000
• Arch Enemy - July 26, 2002, with Nile, Hate Eternal and Origin
• A Perfect Circle - November 30, 2003
• Josh Groban - February 8, 2004
• Union Station - May 9, 2004 and October 22, 2005
• David Bowie - May 19, 2004
• Keith Urban - November 4, 2004, with Katrina Elam
• The Pixies - November 9, 2004
• Sammy Kershaw - November 18, 2004
• Dolly Parton - October 30, 2005
• Juanes - February 25, 2006
• The Cheetah Girls - November 14, 2006, with Vanessa Hudgens and Jordan Pruitt
• James Taylor - May 9, 2009
• Keyshia Cole - May 14, 2009
• Jamie Foxx - July 30, 2009
• Kelly Clarkson - October 23, 2009, with Parachute and Eric Hutchinson
• Janet Jackson - August 14, 2011

External links

• Milwaukee Theatre official website

References