Why Save Her

The Columbus Auditorium is a haunting gem of a secret, tucked away above the police department in City Hall. Filled with history, she is deteriorating and needs help quickly.

Her beauty still shines, but there is much to do to resurrect this ghost of Columbus. Here is my attempt to capture the ethereal feel within this time capsule of our city.

-Michelle

Below are photographs of the auditorium by local photographers.   For us the black & white photos show what "was" and the color photos show what 'is"

join us in our quest to fix her up.

Photos submitted by

Michelle
Rod
JP

History

The last high school class to graduate was in the early 1930's.  It was used for plays, solo & ensemble competitions, church, graduations, high school plays, movies, etc.  It was a central point for entertainment/events in the community. She was boarded up in the 1930's after rumors were circulated that it had been condemned (started by people wanting a new auditorium for the high school).  There have been several attempts to restore it, the most significant being in the 1970's when the lower portion of City Hall was restored.  Members of that 1970's group were the ones that started the current Columbus Auditorium Corporation and made it independent of the City, hoping that City politics wouldn't hold things up.  They've made significant progress and really have a shot at getting this thing restored.  We really feel that we need to move quickly on the restoration.  The money is out there, but people want to see work being done first.  If the work is done quickly, people will have to respond quickly with donations - I think a 18 - 24 month rally of "SAVE THE AUDITORIUM" is better than a 5-6 year "save the auditorium." 

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the photograph

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