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Big Spring, TX: Big Spring Municipal Auditorium

Feb 64 min read

Address: 310 E 3rd St, Big Spring, TX 79720 / E 3rd St. & Nolan St.

Coordinates: 32.253565, -101.473752

Elvis Date: Tuesday, April 26, 1955

Date I Visited: Thursday, September 12, 2024

Built/Opened: September 6, 1932

Building Status as of Nov 19, 2019: Open for private events



My Experience

One thing I've learned over the past few years is that Municipal Auditoriums connected to city halls, or other city buildings, are my some of my favorite adventure spots. It's not because the architecture is really cool, or that the architecture is next level, but rather that they are typically fairly easy to access, and this time was no different.


My dad and I went into the city hall half of the municipal building, asked about five different people who lead us to a woman, who lead us to another woman (Terri T.), an employee at the Big Spring Visitors Center, who walked over and gave us a tour of the auditorium.


Terri showed us around the building, while explaining the interesting architecture and the little details not often noticed, along with some fun facts about Big Spring history, itself, sprinkled in. She showed us the foyer which still houses the original ticket windows, the room backstage that was more than likely Elvis' dressing room, and the second floor. She told us where Elvis stood on stage, at least where he is likely to have stood for I don't know if there are any pictures of his performing at this specific venue. I was more than glad to get a picture standing on the spot, my dad, too.


Terri also educated us on the difference in seating, being that the seats downstairs are nice and padded, while the ones in the balcony are just straight wood seating, likely for the town's black population. There are also half-circle wire contraptions on the bottom of the seats, used for holding one's hat.


The backstage room that was likely Elvis' dressing room, is a white tiled room with a sink, small window, and an entire wall of mirrors. The room is mostly used for storage, at the moment, but the feeling of Elvis is still there. If you look closely enough, I swear you can see him combing his hair in the mirror getting ready for the show.


History of the Auditorium

The Big Spring Municipal Complex was designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by Peters, Strange, and Bradshaw Architects, the same firm that designed the Lubbock High School, and was constructed by C.S. Lambie & Company from Amarillo, TX.


The complex, which, at the time, included the municipal auditorium, fire house/city jail, and municipal offices/city hall, was completed on September 6, 1932, with the auditorium quickly becoming the busy center of all the town's productions.


Over recent years, the auditorium has seen a decent amount of updates, improvements, and repairs:

1988: Air conditioning was installed and a complete remodel was financed by the Dora Roberts Foundation.

2010s: Roof repair, retrofitting, modern lighting system, modern sound system, new drapes, and making the building ADA accessible.

The former Mayor of Big Spring, Larry McLellan, said that the history of the auditorium (Hank Williams Jr., Elvis Presley, etc.) is why they are taking such good care of the building and keeping up with repairs. In 2016, when the largest roof repair was conducted--roughly 20% of the roof--they took care to do the section over the stage, for it is the most important section when you consider the history of the building.


Today (February 2025), the fire department and city jail no longer occupy part of the complex. That area of the building now holds the city council chambers.

Ad From the Big Spring Herald

Elvis, Scotty, and Bill at the Municipal Auditorium

On April 26, 1955, Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, and Bill Black appeared at the auditorium. It was the second night of a 5-day tour that had started in Wichita Falls, TX, the night before with Capitol Recording artist, Dub Dickerson, and TNT artists, Chuck Lee and Gene Kay.


"Joyce Railsback, a fan who had been keeping a diary about all their broadcasts on the Hayride, finally got see them in person here and wrote that Elvis wore pink pants and a pink shirt with black trim. After the show she got to meet him and have a Hayride program autographed." (scottymoore.net)


Famous People Who Performed Here

  • Elvis Presley

  • Tom Ewell

  • William Bendix

  • Mindy Carson

  • Lyle Talbot

  • Charles Laughton

  • Celeste Holm

  • Basil Rathbone

  • Robert Massey

  • Marjorie Tallchief

  • George Shearing

  • Bob Crosby

  • Carlos Montoya

  • Fred Waring

  • Hank Williams Jr.

  • Margaret Whiting

  • Agnes Moorehead

  • Martin Gabel

  • Herb Shriner

  • Percy Grainger

  • Ferrante & Teicher

  • Jose Iturbi

  • Lili Kraus

  • Richard Ellsasser

  • Earl Wrightson & Lois Hunt

  • Jose Greco

  • Freddy Martin

  • Woody Herman

  • Arthur Fiedler

  • Mantovani

  • Robert Merrill

  • Wayne Newton


Sources


If you have anything would like to add, or any questions, feel free to email me at samdgaylor@gmail.com. Thank you for reading!

Comments

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Howdy, thanks for joining me on my Elvis adventures!

Hey, y’all! My name is Samantha “Sam” Gaylor, I’m a 22 year old Texan, born and raised, and I currently reside in West Texas. I’ve been an Elvis fan for a little over 2.5 years now, and learning about everything Elvis has quickly become a full-time hobby of mine...

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