Located in the heart of the University of Missouri campus, Jesse Auditorium is the preeminent performing arts venue in mid-Missouri. Playing host to more than 200 events a year, from Broadway musicals to European opera and ballet; from rock and roll and hip hop to classical and jazz; from bestselling authors to world famous comedians; from lectures to commencements; it's fair to say that there is something for everyone at Jesse. In the inaugural year alone, the auditorium hosted Ella Fitzgerald and Dave Brubeck. Since then, it has played host to legends such as Ray Charles, Jerry Seinfeld, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, & Emmylou Harris just to name a few.
And on Dec. 6, 2013, the venue added Mizzou Wrestling to its acclaimed list of attendees, due to facility conflicts at the Mizzou Sports Park. The Tigers defeated Ohio, 23-10, in the program's first-ever competition on the Jesse stage.
Jesse Auditorium is not only the largest performance venue on the University of Missouri campus; it is also the largest in Columbia. Through the decades, the usage of the auditorium has varied greatly, not only in content, but in quantity.
After the fire of 1892, which destroyed Academic Hall, a new building was built just north of that site. Until 1922, it was commonly referred to as New Academic Hall. At that time, it was renamed Jesse Hall in honor of Richard H. Jesse, the University President until 1908. The west wing housed the library, and the east wing housed an Auditorium for "entertainment and erudition". The Auditorium, as it was called prior to 1922, served many purposes on the campus. It played host to everything from spirit rallies to lectures to debates to theatrical productions. All the well-known orators of the day surely lectured here, everyone from William Jennings Bryan (January 13, 1900) to Amelia Earhart (October 17, 1936).
In the 1950s, shortly after condemning the balcony due to concerns about the wooden timbers, the fire marshal advised the University to come up with a better plan. The result of this, for all practical intents and purposes, was the auditorium that we have today thanks to a $1,250,000 appropriation. The 1955 Savitar marked the occasion this way:
"...Even historic Jesse, like all of Missouri, kept up with the times and expanded with the addition of a modern, large auditorium. But let us not assume that this year, or next, or five years from now Missouri has reached or will reach its peak. These immediate additions are only preview of things to come-they are only evidence of a spirit in the air that M.U. has, is, and will always move forward."
