From the very first time I visited Shreveport Municipal Auditorium (705 Elvis Presley Avenue, Shreveport), I have loved the place. Dedicated in 1929, “the Muni” was built as a memorial to soldiers who fought in World War I, and has borne witness to some amazing moments in American history and pop culture. Bette Davis read Carl Sandburg’s poetry from this stage. Elvis Presley made his broadcast debut, at age 19, at Municipal Auditorium on October 16, 1954, during an amateur hour performance on the legendary Louisiana Hayride. Jimi Hendrix performed what looks to have been a blistering, insane and possibly frightening set here in 1968.
Lately, there’s been an increasing amount of activity at the Muni, including public radio’s A Prairie Home Companion broadcasting live from the stage to 6 million listeners around the world and the Louisiana Hayride putting on a humdinger of a show in celebration of Louisiana’s Bicentennial.
The timing couldn’t be better for us (the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau) to launch this recently-completed, five-part series of Youtube videos about the legendary building, its storied past, and its prospects for the future. Check out the videos and let us know what you think!
Wow love that picture. It reminds me of when I was a child and my grandmother taking me to see wrestling there. That was truly a magical place then, seeing that picture gives me that feeling again.
Thank you, Duke! What a kind thing to say. We love the Municipal Auditorium and enjoy working on projects that help bring it to the attention of the public. It truly is a magical place, as you say!
yeah. it was a great performance . me an mike harold an dickey harold were there to see hendrix.
We drove to Shreveport on the day of the Hendrix concert and were able to get tickets. What a show! After playing all of the songs from “Axis Bold As Love” and “Are You Experienced”, they announced their new album was about to be released and proceeded to play most if not all of the songs from Electric Ladyland. My mind is still blown from that day…