The Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium is an event and convention venue located in downtown
Santa Cruz, California. It is owned by the City of Santa Cruz and is located at 307 Church Street. Opened in 1940, it was built in what was described as, "
Mission-style in architecture with a modern touch and an arrangement of open porches on the corners and sides."[1] Its style has also been described as
Art Deco.[2] It is the home of the
Santa Cruz County Symphony as well as other concerts, expos, conferences, and sporting events. A
carillon was installed in 1963.[3]
In 1956, the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium was the location of a
rock and roll concert that drew national attention after the local police stopped the event because of what they characterized as the dancers' "suggestive, stimulating and tantalizing motions".[4][5]
The Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium was the site of the annual
Miss California beauty pageant from 1966 until 1985,[6] when the pageant left Santa Cruz after years of protests and a "Myth California" counter-pageant organized by local
feminist activists led by
Ann Simonton and
Nikki Craft.[7][8]
In 1984, artist
Guillermo Wagner Granizo donated a ceramic tile mural entitled, "A Gift of Appreciation to this Area," which featured imagery of past events at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium.[9]
^Tubbesing, Susan K (1994). "The Loma Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989 - Loss estimation and procedures". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1553-A. U.S. Department of the Interior.