Auditorium Theatre

The Auditorium Theatre is a historic Chicago performance hall within the Auditorium Building at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive. Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan completed it in 1889, combining a theatre, hotel, and offices in a bold civic project.

Don't miss

• Notice the dramatic 'compression and expansion' effect: you enter through a small, dark, low-ceilinged lobby before emerging into the towering six-story auditorium with grand gilded arches.
• Look for the artful ornamentation of flowers and vines and bucolic murals, which Sullivan used instead of traditional noble or baroque imagery.
• Observe the box seats relocated to the sides, reflecting Sullivan's democratic vision where the best views were not reserved for the wealthiest patrons.
• The stage had 26 hydraulic lifts and a 95-foot loft above for flown scenic elements.
• The original 3,500 carbon-filament bulbs and an early air-conditioning system that required 15 tons of ice each day.

Tickets & tours

Ways to visit Auditorium Theatre

Cheapest way inExplore the Historic Old Post Office in Chicago5★ · 25 travelers~2 hoursFree cancellationFrom$15 per personSee dates →Most bookedChicago Architecture River Cruise4.8★ · 16,557 travelers1-2 hoursFree cancellationFrom$39 per personSee dates →Top ratedChicago Architecture and True Crime History Tour5★ · 490 travelers~2 hoursFree cancellationFrom$35 per personSee dates →

Know before you go

• The building is a major Adler and Sullivan work in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
• The entrance sequence moves from a low, dark lobby into a six-storey auditorium with gilded arches.
• Sullivan used flowers, vines, and bucolic murals in place of conventional noble or Baroque ornament.

A bit of history

Businessman Ferdinand Wythe Peck envisioned a multi-use building with a theatre, luxury hotel, and offices to subsidize affordable performances. The gala opening on December 9, 1889, was attended by President Benjamin Harrison and other dignitaries. The theatre helped Chicago win the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. After financial struggles, it closed in 1941 and was used as a WWII servicemen's center. Roosevelt University saved it from demolition in 1946, and after a restoration led by architect Harry Weese, it reopened in 1967.