White Auditorium
111 E. 6th Ave., Emporia, KS, 66801
Phone: 620-343-4257, 620-343-4295
Emporia hosts a Civic Auditorium that seats about 5,000 people. The Emporia City Commission on November 5th of 1972 honored William Lindsay White (son of William Allen White) by naming the auditorium after him due to the significant work he did for the community as Editor and Publisher of The Emporia Gazette.
The auditorium underwent its initial construction in December of 1938 and opened in May of 1940, with a week of public events.
May 6th of 1940 was when the auditorium was dedicated and opened. Emporia threw a five day celebration which was appropriatly called the Fiestaval (a phrase coined just for this event from the words FIESTA and festiVAL). Church services and formal dedications took place the first two days of this Fiestaval and by May 7th the auditorium was ready for its shows.
These included the "Kansas Cavalcade" which was a 1000 performer act that told a mammoth epic of the west; from Kansas' involvement in the Civil War, to early Kansas Indian days, to even local monuments like the induction of Emporia's College. The fanfare carried on for another procession called "Three Cheers". This was a musical comedy starring Bobby Pope and his orchestra. The finale included the Fiestaval Grand Ball which bared host to Duke Ellington and his famous orchestra to bring the auditorium to life with style.
Heated smoking area? Unknown
Smoking porch? Unknown
Wheelchair accessibility: Very accommodating *
Past events at White Auditorium
* Restaurants are rated either: Very accommodating, ADA-compliant, Inaccessible. For more detailed accessibility profiles, check wiredonwheels.com.