Auditorium

An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theatres, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.

Etymology

The term is taken from Latin (from audītōrium, from audītōrius (“‘pertaining to hearing’”)); the concept is taken from the Greek auditorium, which had a series of semi-circular seating shelves in the theatre, divided by broad 'belts', called diazomata, with eleven rows of seats between each.

Modern examples

The audience in a modern theatre are usually separated from the performers by the proscenium arch, although other types of stage are common.

The price charged for seats in each part of the auditorium (known in the industry as the house) usually varies according to the quality of the view of the stage. The seating areas can include some or all of the following:

Hynes Convention Center (MBTA station)

Hynes Convention Center is an underground light rail station on the MBTA Green Line, located at the intersection of Newbury Street and Massachusetts Avenue at the west end of the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was opened by the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) in 1914 as a transfer station between east-west streetcars running in the Boylston Street Subway to the Tremont Street Subway, and north-south streetcars on Massachusetts Avenue. The surface cars were replaced by buses in the mid 20th century; Hynes is still a transfer location to the key route 1 bus and two other MBTA Bus routes.

The subway station is not currently wheelchair accessible, although a renovation to the station is planned around 2019 as part of air rights development over the adjacent Massachusetts Turnpike. Like all MBTA Bus stops, the surface-level bus stop is fully accessible.

History

Opening

Construction of the Boylston Street Subway, a westward extension of the 1897-built Tremont Street Subway, began in March 1912. Stations were located to serve Copley Square - a major civic center - and the Massachusetts Avenue thoroughfare. The tunnel including Massachusetts station opened on October 3, 1914.

Auditorium (Community of Christ)

Coordinates: 39°05′26″N 94°25′32″W / 39.090434°N 94.42547°W / 39.090434; -94.42547 (Community of Christ Auditorium)

The Auditorium (formerly the RLDS Auditorium) is a house of worship and office building located on the greater Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri. The Auditorium is part of the headquarters complex of the Community of Christ which also includes the Independence Temple.

Construction

Construction of the Auditorium was a massive undertaking, illustrating the vision of church Prophet/President Frederick M. Smith who provided the building's inspiration. Ground was broken in 1926 and the building was finally completed in 1958. Smith's plans for the Conference chamber were originally about 66% larger than when it was finished. Construction was virtually halted during the Great Depression when the church struggled under a massive debt.

The Auditorium houses an Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ with 113 ranks and 6,334 pipes. The Auditorium Organ includes an antiphonal console and pipes in the rear balcony of the oval chamber. It is listed as one of the 75 largest pipe organs in the world.