Opening and early years In 1885, Chicago-based businessman and philanthropist
Ferdinand Wythe Peck began ambitious plans for the building that would house the Auditorium Theatre. At the time, Chicago was still recovering from the
1871 Great Chicago Fire and was rife with the contentious labor issues that would lead to the 1886
Haymarket Square bombing. Peck was committed to building a state-of-the-art performance venue that would make high culture available to the general public, while also helping to bolster Chicago's sullied reputation. To subsidize the cost of performances, Peck envisioned a new concept in design: a multi-use structure that would encompass the theatre, as well as a luxury hotel and office space; proceeds from the hotel and offices would fund performances and keep ticket prices affordable. The architecture firm
Adler and Sullivan was retained to design the building at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Congress Street. It is considered to be one of their most notable buildings during their partnership together. The gala opening night performance on December 9, 1889, was a major social event bringing together politicians and national leaders. In attendance were President
Benjamin Harrison, Vice President
Levi Morton, Illinois Governor
Joseph Wilson Fifer, Chicago Mayor
DeWitt Clinton Cregier, the theatre's financial backers, and the city's elite. President Harrison (who had visited the Auditorium in 1888, when the theatre, still a construction site, housed 9000 Republican National Convention attendees) was evidently so impressed that he was rumored to have whispered to Vice President Levi P. Morton, "New York surrenders, eh?" Crowds of people lined the streets waiting to get a glimpse of the famous and wealthy guests. A highlight of the evening was opera star Madame
Adelina Patti's rendition of John Howard Payne's "Home Sweet Home". The Auditorium Theatre played a critical role in Chicago being named host for 1893
World's Columbian Exposition. Local civic leaders in Chicago were vying with those in St. Louis, New York City, and Washington to host a fair that could reestablish Chicago as a destination for travel and commerce. The international sensation brought about by the opening of the Auditorium was seen by Congress as an indication that the people of Chicago possessed the vision and financing to successfully produce a world-class fair. During its early years, the Auditorium stage played host to the leading entertainers of the era, including John Philip Sousa,
Sarah Bernhardt, The Ziegfeld Follies, Anna Pavlova, and Helen Morgan, as well as political figures including Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Booker T. Washington. In 1912, Teddy Roosevelt famously told the Auditorium crowd, he felt "as strong a bull moose", during his controversial
run for an additional term as United States' president. It was also the home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Grand Opera Company, and also featured indoor baseball games.
Decline and closing Peck's hope that the revenue from the hotel and offices would subsidize the cost of presenting performances ultimately proved unsustainable, particularly as more modern hotels (featuring private bathrooms) came about. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra moved to
Orchestra Hall in 1904, and the Grand Opera relocated to the
Civic Opera House in 1929. In the early 1930s, estimates were taken to demolish the building, but the cost of the demolition was more than the land was worth. Following a run of the comedic musical revue "Hellzapoppin", the Auditorium Theatre went bankrupt and closed in 1941. In 1942, the Auditorium was taken over by the City of Chicago to be used as a
World War II servicemen's center. The stage and front rows of the theatre were converted to a bowling alley production of ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream''.
Music, dance, and productions Musicians who have performed at the theater include French organist
Alexandre Guilmant in 1893 for the Chicago World's Fair and Russian pianist
Sergei Prokofiev in 1921. Prokofiev's opera ''
L'amour des trois oranges'' had its world premiere at the theater on 30 December 1921. Since its reopening in the 1960s, a host of rock and pop performers have played at the theatre, including
Ray Charles,
The Beach Boys,
The Monkees,
The Doors,
Deep Purple,
The Impressions,
James Brown,
Jackie Wilson,
Diana Ross & the Supremes,
Jefferson Airplane,
Genesis,
David Gilmour,
Jimi Hendrix,
The Who,
Janis Joplin,
David Bowie,
Bruce Springsteen,
Elton John,
Aretha Franklin,
Grateful Dead,
Osibisa,
Parliament-Funkadelic,
James Taylor,
Liza Minnelli,
Bette Midler,
Queen and
Neil Young. Dance companies who have performed at the theater include
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,
Bolshoi Ballet, and
American Ballet Theatre. Broadway musicals with long-running productions at the theatre have included
The Phantom of the Opera,
Les Misérables,
Miss Saigon,
Show Boat,
Hello Dolly!,
The King and I, and ''
The Who's Tommy''. On July 5, 1970,
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young performed at the venue, with a portion of the concert recorded for their live double album
4 Way Street.
Present being held at the venue '' filming a live episode at the venue during the
2024 Democratic National Convention Today, the Auditorium Theatre continues to maintain and restore the Adler & Sullivan building. Recent innovations include the introduction of the theatre's first public elevator as well as the Katten/Landau Studio housed in the Roosevelt University Wabash Building. Typically, more than 200 performances and events, ranging from dance and theater to music, educational programs, and more, attract over a quarter of a million people every year. The venue presents a wide array of international, national and Chicago-based dance and music programming. The signature program of the Auditorium's Creative Engagement department is "Hearts to Art", a summer camp that utilizes the performing arts of music, theatre and dance to provide healing opportunities for children who have experienced the death of a parent. Winner of State Farm Insurance's 2009 "Embrace Life" award, the camp helps the children gain self-confidence, learn to express themselves and fosters emotional growth through interaction with other campers and caring adults who have experienced the same loss. On October 2, 2014, it was announced that the
2015 NFL draft would be held at the Auditorium Theatre, making the first selection meeting outside
New York City in fifty years. The first round of the draft took place there on April 30, 2015. The draft ended after 7 rounds and 256 selections on May 2, 2015. The venue hosted the
NFL draft again in
2016. The Auditorium hosted the
Joffrey Ballet from 1998 through 2019. In late 2025, a major restoration project was announced with an anticipated completion date of fall 2027 that will restore the stained glass skylight and atrium and the Celtic stenciling on the atrium walls so as to realize the original design intentions of Adler and Sullivan. == Architecture ==