Albuquerque Civic Auditorium was an indoor arena in Albuquerque

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, which was demolished in 1987. It was notable for its innovative construction, as the dome was created by pouring concrete over a mound of packed earth which was subsequently removed. The auditorium was located east of Downtown

Downtown Albuquerque

Downtown Albuquerque is the central business district of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is where a large number of the city's highrise buildings are located, as well as being the center of government and business for the region....

 on Grand Avenue (now Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.), between St. Joseph Hospital and Interstate 25

Interstate 25 in New Mexico

In the U.S. state of New Mexico, Interstate 25 follows the north–south corridor through Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It replaced U.S. Route 85, which is no longer signed, but still exists in route logs sharing the I-25 alignment. I-25 starts in New Mexico at an interchange with I-10 in Las Cruces and...

. It opened in 1957 and had a capacity of 6,000 people.

History

The Civic Auditorium was designed by Albuquerque architect George Pearl, who came up with the idea of using an earthen mound as a form for the poured-in-place concrete dome. An existing hill on the site was built up and shaped to the proper dimensions, followed by a ten-day concrete pour. The earth was then excavated from under the dome to create the arena space. The finished dome was 62 feet high, 218 feet in diameter, and varied in thickness from five inches at the center to two feet at the edges. The innovative construction technique garnered a mention in Life

Life (magazine)

Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....

and was also praised by Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...

 during a lecture at the University of New Mexico

University of New Mexico

The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...

 in 1956.

The venue opened on April 27, 1957, with the Albuquerque Civic Symphony playing the opening night. Over the years the venue hosted a number of notable acts, including Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

 in 1969 and Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...

 in 1970, just three months before his death. However, the auditorium had poor acoustics and eventually fell from popularity as a music venue in favor of Tingley Coliseum

Tingley Coliseum

The Tingley Coliseum is an 11,571-seat multi-purpose arena in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Originally built as a rodeo and horse show auditorium, it is located at 300 San Pedro Drive N.E....

and Popejoy Hall. It was demolished in 1987.