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Then and Now: Macky Auditorium
![Macky Auditorium](/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/macky.jpg?itok=tArrHUt7)
![Macky Auditorium in the 1900s](/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/mss7-3-1_front.jpg?itok=b3Kr4tdy)
![Inside of Macky Auditorium](/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/34539622276_e0e4ee5ee2_o.jpg?itok=yembR9HD)
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![Sonia Sotomayor](/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_square_image_style/public/2024-10/sonia_sotomayor_1.jpg?h=7dbe6bf1&itok=eyI1xh2Z)
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor gives a talk in Macky Auditorium in DecemberÌý2016.
Name: Macky Auditorium
Year Built: Construction began in 1909 and finishedÌýinÌý1922.ÌýThe inaugural concert took placeÌýMay 19, 1923.
Architect: Gove & Walsh of Denver
Today:ÌýMacky remains Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder's biggest and most glamorous indoor concert hall.ÌýStudents and faculty from the College of Music’s band, orchestra, opera and jazz programs perform there, as wellÌýas visiting artists hosted byÌýÂ鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØPresents and a who's-who of guest speakers.ÌýEleanor Roosevelt, the Dalai Lama, Yo-Yo Ma, Jane Goodall, Robin Williams, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, Antonin Scalia, Sonia Sotomayor, Buzz Aldrin and Anderson Cooper, among many others, have all appeared on the Macky stage.
Once Upon a Time: When Andrew J. Macky, gold rush settler and founding director of the First National Bank in Boulder, died in 1907, he bequeathed $300,000 to Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØto build an auditorium. Legal tussles withÌýMacky’s adopted daughter, May, led to construction delays, andÌýthe building took 13 years to complete. In 1922, CU’s Board of Regents appropriated $20,000 forÌýa pipe organ.
Did You Know: In 1971, several hundred students attempted to crash a sold-out Neil Young concert, breaking the glass in the foyer doors, and fighting off police armed with fire hoses.
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Check out our other building posts here.
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Information and historic photos courtesy of CUÌýHeritage Center; Interior photoÌýbyÌýGlenn Asakawa/Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ