Then and Now: Macky Auditorium

Name: Macky Auditorium

Year Built: Construction began in 1909 and finished in 1922. The inaugural concert took place May 19, 1923.

Architect: Gove & Walsh of Denver

Today: Macky remains CU Boulder's biggest and most glamorous indoor concert hall. Students and faculty from the College of Music’s band, orchestra, opera and jazz programs perform there, as well as visiting artists hosted by CU Presents and a who's-who of guest speakers. Eleanor 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 CU to build an auditorium. Legal tussles with Macky’s adopted daughter, May, led to construction delays, and the building took 13 years to complete. In 1922, CU’s Board of Regents appropriated $20,000 for a 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.

Have a memory to share? Email editor@colorado.edu. 

Check out our other building posts here.

Information and historic photos courtesy of CU Heritage Center; Interior photo by Glenn Asakawa/University of Colorado Boulder