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Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium

Introduction

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Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium is considered to be the last public commission of architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

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Gammage Auditorium

Gammage Auditorium

ASU President Henry Grady Gammage (1933-1959). Courtesy of ASU

ASU President Henry Grady Gammage (1933-1959). Courtesy of ASU

Interior of Auditorium as seen from stage. Courtesy of ASU

Interior of Auditorium as seen from stage. Courtesy of ASU

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright

Backstory and Context

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Groundbreaking took place and construction on the building began on May 23, 1962. It took 25 months to complete. The built-on-time, under-budget building opened in 1964 with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

The auditorium is named for Dr. Grady Gammage, President of Arizona State University (ASU) from 1933 to 1959. The auditorium is located on the main campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, at the crossroads of Mill Avenue and Apache Boulevard.

The structure measures 300 feet long by 250 feet wide by 80 feet high. Fifty concrete columnns support the round roof with its pattern of interlocking circles. Twin "flying buttress" pedestrian ramps extending 200 feet from the north and east sides of the structure connect the building to the parking lot. The auditorium seats a total of 3,017 people pop on its main floor, grand tier and balcony. The stage can be adapted for grand opera, Broadway musicals, dramatic productions, solo productions, organ recitals and lectures.

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