Palmer Auditorium

Palmer Events Center - Photo courtesy of Carolyn Conn

Location: Austin, Texas

Palmer Auditorium

400 South 1st St. at Riverside Drive

Austin, TX 78704

http://austin.citysearch.com/profile/10212451

Originally opened in 1959, Palmer Auditorium started an airplane hanger bought by the city. The hangar was converted to the City Coliseum in 1949 and then to Palmer Auditorium, named for Lester E. Palmer, former City Council Member and later Mayor of Austin. Its familiar patchwork dome graced Riverside Drive for over 40 years, finally giving way to the new Lester E. Palmer Events Center. The Auditorium (which after renovation will re-open as the R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts) has played host to celebrities such as local legend Stevie Ray Vaughan and Elvis Presley.