Municipal Auditorium – Charleston WV

Description

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, WV.

According to WOWK: “The history of the Charleston Municipal Auditorium in West Virginia’s capital city started with debate from citizens. According to the auditorium’s Statement of Significance to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, the debate on whether or not to have the auditorium in downtown Charleston began in the 1930s. It says people for the auditorium said it was needed because it would attract performers and bring culture to the capital city. On the other side, people said it would be an ‘unnecessary and frivolous waste of public funds.’

In 1936, the city applied for a $412,000 grant-in-aid through the Public Works Administration (PWA) to begin construction on the auditorium. In the same year, the application was denied; the city reapplied the following year. Voters approved a $250,000 municipal bond for the construction of the auditorium. After the passage of a $2 billion federal relief appropriations bill, the city of Charleston received $212,000 in PWA funding, which the statement says was 45% of the construction funds.”