A. Hays Town, the Louisiana architect best known for reviving French Creole domestic building, drew Lafayette's first municipal auditorium in 1957; it opened in 1960 and carries the name of the Heymann family, merchants and patrons of the city. What began as a civic hall for meetings and touring shows has become a performing-arts centre, with ballet, musicals, orchestral concerts and staged opera in its programme. The Heymann Performing Arts Center in Lafayette, Louisiana, grew out of a municipal auditorium designed by A. The centre stands beside Lafayette's Oil Center district and combines its role as a presenting theatre with the civic functions of a municipal auditorium.