Northrop Auditorium
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Cyrus Northrop Memorial Auditorium is a stage venue at the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus named for Cyrus Northrop, the university's second president. Various events are held there, including concerts, ballet performances, and lectures. The structure was built in 1929 and has seating for approximately 4,850 people. There are two levels of seating: the main floor, and a large balcony.
It sits at the north end of Northrop Mall, a grassy area of the core campus which is lined with physics, mathematics, chemistry, and administration buildings, plus Walter Library. Coffman Memorial Union sits at the south end, opposite the auditorium, across Washington Avenue.
From the time of construction until 1974, the building served as home of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (today known as the Minnesota Orchestra). Today, the university's marching band regularly uses the building in the fall semester.
A sizable pipe organ was installed in the building over the course of three or four years beginning in 1932. It is one of the largest organs built by Aeolian-Skinner that still exists, although the exact size seems to be in dispute. A conservative count records 81 stops, 108 ranks, and 6,963 pipes.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ University of Minnesota: Northrop Auditorium. International Organ Foundation. Retrieved on February 26, 2006.
