This year to celebrate Preservation Month, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has urged us to think about the “Power of Place” – for us, the Worcester Memorial Auditorium immediately comes to mind.
AHF, with the City of Worcester, has embarked on a project to revive the Auditorium (locally called “the Aud”), reestablishing this majestic building as a cultural resource for the city.
The rehabilitation and revitalization of the Aud taps into all the ways that historic preservation can affect local communities – adding to a vibrant downtown, providing new places to gather, creating economic growth, and re-asserting the Auditorium as a centerpiece to Worcester’s civic pride.
The Power of Place is obvious from the first time you lay eyes on the building: the Auditorium’s prominent location in historic Lincoln Square makes a strong first impression. In the years after WWI, Worcester’s leading citizens spent a decade looking for a suitable site, eventually securing 100,000 square feet of land from the Worcester Art Museum to build the Auditorium. Today, the massive Classical Revival structure, with its Doric columns and five large, bronze doors, plays an important role in the architectural fabric of Lincoln Square, and the Salisbury Cultural district beyond.
Inside the building, there are spaces both sacred and momentous that show the Power of Place. The entire building was created as a memorial to the soldiers in the Great War, but within its walls, the gracious Memorial Hall invites visitors to reflect on the lives lost. The soaring ceiling, the multi-story windows overlooking Lincoln Square, the evocative murals on the walls – upon entering this space, one feels the impact immediately. Voices quiet, eyes take in everything from the marble floors to the gilded eagles. This is a place for reflection. The Memorial was and remains a space for remembrance, as well as celebration of the city’s strength.
In the large Auditorium space, another feeling often hits visitors: nostalgia. Maybe they remember catching their favorite band perform here – Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, the Rolling Stones, and Phish all performed onstage. Or they remember Bob Cousy and the Holy Cross Basketball team playing on the hardwood. Perhaps they recall spending time with their families here, watching their sister’s dance recital, or attending countless graduations. From the mezzanine’s velvet green chairs to the extraordinary Kimball Pipe Organ – visitors to the space immediately grasp that this is a special place, and one that should be brought back to life.
Lastly, it’s the building’s place in Worcester history that is ever-powerful. It was no small feat to build the Auditorium – built from Deer Island granite, Indiana limestone, and marble, the municipal project took 15 years and cost $2 million to construct. City leaders envisioned a monument honoring the 9,000 Worcester citizens who fought in the Great War, and the 355 young men and women that sacrificed their lives. The Auditorium serves as a solemn memorial to lives lost and a spirited affirmation of Worcester’s vitality.
