Eisenhower Auditorium

Begun in the summer of 1971 and dedicated on 8 May 1974 — first as University Auditorium, then renamed for Milton S. Eisenhower, president of Penn State from 1950 to 1956 — it is the largest performing-arts room on the University Park campus. Seating runs to 2,455 or 2,551 depending on how much room the orchestra needs, spread over orchestra, grand tier and balcony, with no middle aisles. The Center for the Performing Arts, which is housed here, puts more than 200 concerts, plays, lectures and commencements through the proscenium stage each year, touring opera among them.