Thousands of actors, musicians, lecturers, and others have performed, played, or spoken from the stage of Jesse Auditorium since Jesse Hall opened in 1895 on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia. Jesse Hall, MU’s administration building, replaced old Academic Hall, which burned to the ground on January 9, 1892, leaving the famous six columns on Francis Quadrangle. The fire that destroyed Academic Hall was caused by a spark in one of the new electric chandeliers installed in Academic Hall’s large meeting room, where an audience had gathered for a debate.

Jesse Hall, also named Academic Hall until 1922, when its moniker was changed to honor retired university president Richard Henry Jesse, was built just south of where old Academic Hall once stood. At the time of its construction, Jesse Hall included a men’s gymnasium in the basement and separate athletic facilities for women on the second floor. The original auditorium constructed in Jesse Hall seated only 1,200, and after its wooden balcony was proclaimed a fire hazard and closed in the 1940s, that seating capacity was reduced to 400. Its original entrance was on the north side of the building, off the Quadrangle. Passers-by on the north side of Jesse Hall can observe this original entrance, which now serves as a house left lobby exit from the current auditorium.

Jesse Auditorium closed for major renovations in 1953, reopened in 1954, and is, for the most part, the 1,750-seat auditorium that is used today for 200-plus events every year. Some great talents and notable Americans have been on Jesse’s stage, including statesman and one-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, who gave his celebrated lecture, “Pending Problems,” on January 13, 1900. Amelia Earhart spoke in 1936. Famous actor and MU alumnus George C. Scott performed in Missouri Workshop Theater productions, including “Winslow Boy” in 1950. Ella Fitzgerald sang in 1959, with an introductory act by Oscar Peterson. Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater spoke in the 1960s, and Ike and Tina Turner performed in 1967.

University Concert Series has brought big names and big acts to Jesse Auditorium through the years. Included in Concert Series’ one hundredth season is the return of the world-renowned Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, which used to visit Jesse Auditorium and Brewer Fieldhouse, former home of the basketball Tigers, for decades.