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ASU Gammage

From the southeast (2016)
Address	1200 South Forest Avenue Tempe, Arizona United States
Owner	Arizona State University
Capacity	3,017
Construction
Broke ground	1962
Opened	September 18, 1964
Architect	Frank Lloyd Wright
General contractor	Robert E. McKee Company
Tenants
Broadway Across America
Website
www.asugammage.com
ASU Gammage
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of ArizonaShow map of the United States
Coordinates	33°24′58.67″N 111°56′17.08″W / 33.4162972°N 111.9380778°W / 33.4162972; -111.9380778
Architect	Frank Lloyd Wright
Architectural style	Usonian
NRHP reference No.	85002170
Added to NRHP	September 11, 1985

ASU Gammage (formerly known as Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium) is a multipurpose performing arts center at 1200 South Forest Avenue at East Apache Boulevard in Tempe, Arizona, within the main campus of Arizona State University (ASU). The auditorium, which bears the name of former ASU President Grady Gammage, is considered to be one of the last public commissions of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It was built from 1962 to 1964.

ASU Gammage stands as one of the largest exhibitors of performing arts among university venues in the world, featuring a wide range of genres and events.

ASU Gammage was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

History

The process that led to construction of the auditorium began in 1957 when incumbent university President Grady Gammage desired a unique facility for the ASU campus. In 1956, a collapsed roof rendered the school’s combination auditorium/gymnasium unusable. Gammage recruited his friend Frank Lloyd Wright to design the new building. He would, with various budget related alterations, base its design on a circular opera house that he had conceptualized for the city of Baghdad sometime prior upon the invitation of Iraqi King Faisal II. Plans for that opera house were abandoned after Faisal’s assassination in the 14 July Revolution. Wright is also said to be responsible for siting the auditorium, selecting an athletic field at 1200 South Forest Avenue which had formerly held on-campus G.I. housing units.

Wright and Gammage both died in 1959, leaving Wright's protégé William Wesley Peters to undertake completion of the auditorium. Spearheaded by the Robert E. McKee Company, construction of the facility commenced in 1962 and was completed twenty-five months later, officially opening on September 18, 1964, in time to host The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

The auditorium was used for the funeral of Arizona Senator and 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater on June 3, 1998.

On October 13, 2004, the auditorium was the site of the third and closing debate between George W. Bush and John Kerry in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election.

Structure

The structure measures 300 feet (91 m) long by 250 feet (76 m) wide by 80 feet (24 m) high. Fifty concrete columns support the round roof with its pattern of interlocking circles. Twin "flying buttress" pedestrian ramps extending 200 feet (61 m) from the north and east sides of the structure connect the building to the parking lot. The auditorium seats 3,017 people on its main floor, grand tier and balcony. The stage can be adapted for opera, theatricals, musicals, concerts, and lectures.

Performance and other spaces

Auditorium

The auditorium has a maximum seating capacity of 3,017. It is wheelchair accessible and has an infrared system for 100 hearing-impaired people (in addition to signers).

Stage

• Type: proscenium
• Playing space dimensions: 64'x33' or 64'x40'
• Proscenium opening: 64'x30'
• Height grid/ceiling: 78'
• Floor type: Canadian hard rock maple
• Rigging system type: 58 double purchase, 40 hydraulic (98 lines total)

Backstage

• Loading dock
• Door dimensions: 10'x11'6
• Dressing rooms: 9
• Maximum capacity: 54

Deck

Permanent installations: traps in stage, orchestra shell, hydraulic orchestra pit, electricity in pit, music stands, pianos Pit

• Dimensions: 76'x9'
• Number of stands: 85
• Chairs for pit: 90

Electrics/Sound

• Building electrics current: 9 panels-3-600/3-200/2-100/1-100 = 2700 total
• Lighting board: computer memory
• Lighting equipment: 32-8x13, 22-10x12, 55-6x9, 30 8" Fresnels, 12 Par Cans, 12 Mini Strips

See also

• List of Frank Lloyd Wright works
• Broadway Across America

References

Notes

1. "Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium Facility Information". Arizona State University. Archived from the original on July 28, 2001.
2. "National Register of Historical Places – Arizona – Maricopa County". National Park Service.
3. "ASU Interactive Map". www.asu.edu. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
4. "Frank Lloyd Wright's Work". Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
5. "Plan Your Visit | ASU Gammage". www.asugammage.com. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
6. "ASU Gammage Set To Host Golden Gammage Fala" (PDF) (Press release). ASU Gammage. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2015.
7. "Maps | National Park Service". www.nps.gov. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
8. "History | ASU Gammage". www.asugammage.com. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
9. "ASU Library:". www.asu.edu. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
10. Lengel, Kerry. "ASU Gammage celebrates 50th anniversary". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
11. "CNN.com - Frank Lloyd Wright's plans for greater Baghdad - Sep. 29, 2003". www.cnn.com. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
12. "An abridged history of Mill Avenue: The grandiose and worldly ASU Gammage". The Arizona State Press. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
13. Goodykoontz, Bill (September 2014). "A golden Gammage". ASU Magazine. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016.
14. "Frank Lloyd Wright". Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
15. "Senator Goldwater Funeral Service | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
16. "Thousands turn out for Bush, Kerry post-debate rallies in Phoenix, Tempe". Arizona Daily Sun. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
17. "CPD: October 13, 2004 Debate Transcript". www.debates.org. Retrieved Dec 13, 2020.
18. About ASU's Gammage Auditorium Archived May 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
19. "ASU Gammage". Arizona Heritage Traveler. Archived from the original on May 3, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2020.

Bibliography

• Storrer, William Allin. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. University of Chicago Press, 2006, ISBN 0-226-77621-2 (S.432)

External links

• ASU Gammage
• Page with photos of the Gammage Auditorium
• Gammage Auditorium on waymarking.com
• Gammage Auditorium on peterbeers.net
• Lion King at ASU Gammage
• Photos on Arcaid

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Popular culture	The Last Wright: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Park Inn Hotel Shining Brow Loving Frank "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" Work Song: Three Views of Frank Lloyd Wright The Women The Wright 3
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