Juanita K. Hammons Hall

History

Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts is the Missouri State University hall in Springfield, named for Juanita K. Hammons, wife of developer John Q. Hammons, after the couple's capital gift. The hall's site says the gala opening was in October 1992 and the theatre seats 2,264, including boxes and an orchestra pit. The Springfield Symphony has played its season there since the opening. A campus paper dates the public opening to September 1992 after nearly two years of construction, following a 1985 state appropriation that required Southwest Missouri State to raise matching funds. Address used by Springfield's visitors bureau for shows: 525 S. John Q. Hammons Parkway. (hammonshall.com/About.htm; The Standard, Oct. 9, 2001)