Marion Oliver McCaw Hall (often abbreviated to McCaw Hall) is a performing arts hall in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. Located on the grounds of the

Seattle Center The Seattle Center is an entertainment, education, tourism and performing arts center located in the Lower Queen Anne, Seattle, Lower Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Constructed for the Century 21 Exposition, 1962 W ...

and owned by the city of Seattle, McCaw Hall's two principal tenants are

Seattle Opera Seattle Opera is an American opera company based in Seattle, Washington. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of eight to ten performances each, often featuring double casts in major roles to all ...

and Pacific Northwest Ballet. The building is named for Marion Oliver McCaw, whose four sons donated $20 million to fund a major renovation in 2003. It was formerly known as the Civic Auditorium and Seattle Opera House.

History

The building originally opened in 1928 as the Civic Auditorium. Its construction was funded by a donation from Seattle saloon owner James Osborne and a voter-approved

municipal bond A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal bonds is often ...

issue; the site was donated to the city by David Denny, one of the members of the Denny Party credited with founding the city of Seattle. The auditorium became the home of the Seattle Symphony and also hosted several touring shows. In 1956, voters passed another bond measure to fund expansion of the Civic Auditorium for use as a venue in the upcoming

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

. Construction began in 1959, and the auditorium reopened as the Seattle Opera House on April 21, 1962 – the opening day of the World's Fair – with a Seattle Symphony performance featuring

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

as a guest conductor and

Van Cliburn Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist. At the age of 23, Cliburn achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold ...

as a guest soloist. The Opera House hosted several performances during the World's Fair, including live telecasts of ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', a science fiction panel discussion featuring

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

and

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...

, as well as multiple concerts and dance performances featuring acts from around the world. The

company was founded in 1963 and held its first season in the Opera House in 1964. Pacific Northwest Ballet was founded in 1972 and held its first season in the Opera House in 1973. Seattle Symphony held its final concert in the Opera House on June 30, 1998, and moved to the newly completed Benaroya Hall soon after. In 1999, voters passed a bond measure to fund another major renovation to the Opera House. The "most dramatic" renovation and expansion of the Opera House began in 2002. Cell phone pioneer Craig McCaw along with his three brothers donated $20 million to help fund construction and as a result the newly renovated building was named Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, after their mother.

LMN Architects LMN is an American architecture firm based in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded in 1979, and provides planning and design services to create convention centers, cultural arts venues, higher education facilities, commercial and mixed ...

oversaw the renovation and McCaw Hall opened in late June 2003. The first concert at the renovated venue took place on September 29, 2003.

References

External links

McCaw Hall
s official website site
Seattle Opera
s official site
Pacific Northwest Ballet
s official site
Landscape Online info about "Dreaming in Color"
{{Authority control Opera houses in Washington (state) Culture of Seattle Buildings and structures in Seattle Seattle Center Tourist attractions in Seattle Music venues completed in 1928 Theatres completed in 1928 1928 establishments in Washington (state) Music venues in Washington (state) World's fair architecture in Seattle

History

See also

References

External links