 Lisner Auditorium in June 2020 | |
 | |
| Address | 730 21st St, NW Washington, D.C. United States |
|---|---|
| Public transit | Washington Metro    at Foggy Bottom |
| Owner | George Washington University |
| Capacity | 1,350[1] |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1946 |
| Architect | Faulkner & Kingsbury |
| Website | |
| www | |
Lisner Auditorium | |
    | |
| Coordinates | 38°53′57.57″N 77°2′49.13″W / 38.8993250°N 77.0469806°W |
| Architectural style | Stripped Classicism |
| NRHP reference No. | 90001548[2] |
| Designated | October 25, 1990 |
Lisner Auditorium is a performance venue sited on the Foggy Bottom campus of George Washington University at 730 21st Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. Named for Abram Lisner (1852-1938), a university trustee and benefactor whose will provided one million dollars towards its construction, it was designed in 1940 and completed in 1946. Constructed in the stripped classicist style of the late Art Deco and host to major classical, folk, rock, blues, opera, and theatrical performances over the decades, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 for its dual significance as an architectural work and as a performance venue.[3]
The auditorium played a key role in desegregation at George Washington University and in Washington, D.C.; its 1946 grand opening became a city-wide target for the desegregation of the city's theaters and a catalyst for George Washington students calling on the university to admit African American students.[4] The auditorium seats 1,350[5] and is the home of the Washington Concert Opera.
- ^ "Lisner Auditorium | GW Events & Venues | the George Washington University".
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Lisner Auditorium" Registration Form. Washington, D.C.: National Register of Historic Places. 25 October 1990. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Novak, "Desegregation of GW"was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Lisner Auditorium | GW Events & Venues | the George Washington University".