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!
