R. J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium
The R. J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium, located in Winston-Salem, NC, was built 1919–1924 under the direction of architect Charles Barton Keen (designer of the R. J. Reynolds estate, Reynolda House). Keen also designed the adjacent Richard J. Reynolds High School. Both buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Auditorium and adjacent school sit on a tract of land formerly known as "Silver Hill." The 28-acre (110,000 m2) tract of land now encompasses the Auditorium, the school, Hanes Park (named after the founder of Hanes Clothing Company and then-mayor James G. Hanes), the Calvin H. Wiley Middle School and the Winston-Salem Central YMCA.
The Auditorium is now operated jointly by the Administration of the Richard J. Reynolds High School and the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. An auditorium manager is hired to take care of the day-to-day operations of the building and scheduling of performances and events.
The Auditorium is one of the oldest and largest performing arts centers in the City of Winston-Salem. The building can comfortably seat 1898 people, with 857 seats on the main Orchestra level and 1,041 seats located on the Mezzanine/Balcony area.
In 1919, after the death of her husband R. J. Reynolds in 1918, Mrs. Katharine Smith Reynolds donated a large tract of land then known as "Silver Hill" to the City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her plan was to have a grand school and auditorium built in memory of her late husband.
While the Richard J. Reynolds High School would serve the youth of the city, the Auditorium would serve the entire community and act as a gathering place in order for all citizens to participate in the arts. The building of the Auditorium only added to the City of Winston-Salem's reputation as the "City of the Arts."
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