The first iteration of the Minneapolis Auditorium was built in 1905 at 11th and Nicollet. That building became the Lyceum Theater.

The second (pictured below) was built in 1927 at 1301 Second Ave. So. [1403 Stevens] for $3.15 million. It had a 10,000 pipe tubular pneumatic action Kimball organ, said to be the fourth largest in the world, “the voice of Minneapolis.” It is now in storage in the convention center. The Auditorium opened on June 4, 1928. The Minneapolis Auditorium was home to the Minneapolis Lakers, the state’s first professional sports team, from 1947 to 1960. In August 1964, the space was renamed the Minneapolis Auditorium and Convention Center when a Convention Hall addition was built. In 1972, the auditorium manager began refusing to hold concerts by some hard-rock groups, such as Alice Cooper and Jefferson Airplane, after an incident at the St. Paul Civic Center where windows were smashed after a Black Sabbath concert. The auditorium was demolished in 1989.

Minneapolis Auditorium