It’s an Art Deco giant, occupying an entire city block in downtown Fresno. Rising from the depths of the Great Depression, it served as the city’s cultural center for decades. It hosted everything from dances and sporting events to concerts by Frank Sinatra to Sonny and Cher. Today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots, the story of Fresno’s Veterans Memorial Auditorium and the controversy around its name.
You’ll find the building, originally named the Fresno Memorial Auditorium, at Fresno and “N” Streets, looking much like it did when it opened 90 years ago. The façade features stylized reliefs depicting the valley’s agricultural bounty in the Art Deco style. In 1933 city voters approved a bond measure to help pay for the $400,000 building, and match a grant from the Public Works Administration, part of FDR’s New Deal.
But as construction neared in 1935, a controversy emerged. The original plan for a “civic” or “municipal” auditorium had morphed into plans for a “memorial” auditorium. The American Legion wanted it to have plaques showing military scenes to honor veterans. The Daughters of the American Revolution wanted plaques with peacetime scenes celebrating Valley agriculture. The Legion called their opponents "communists," and the Daughters called the Legion "fascists."
They ultimately reached a compromise - the building would be known as the Fresno Memorial Auditorium, but who was being memorialized would be left unstated. It opened in 1936 and was the main civic venue in the city until the Fresno Convention Center was completed in 1966.
The building was renamed the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in the 1990s and today houses the Legion of Valor Museum, as well as performing arts groups like Children’s Musical Theaterworks. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
