Jesse Auditorium, University of Missouri

History

Jesse Auditorium is the performance hall in Jesse Hall on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. Academic Hall, which held the university’s earlier meeting room, burned on January 9, 1892; New Academic Hall was completed in 1895 and renamed Jesse Hall in 1922 for former president Richard Henry Jesse. The auditorium first seated about 1,200. After the wooden balcony was condemned, a 1953 renovation designed by Jamieson and Spearl produced the present hall, which the university lists at 1,732 seats and calls the largest performing hall in Columbia. William Jennings Bryan lectured there in 1900; the University Concert Series still books touring shows, and the room is used for commencements and campus events. Sources: Wikipedia, Jesse Hall; University of Missouri Reservations & Events, Jesse Auditorium page; Mizzou Athletics facility history.