Events Will Pay Tribute to Auditorium

Residents will bid farewell this weekend to a piece of city history, the Westminster Auditorium, before it is razed to make way for a health-care center.

The auditorium, built in the 1940s, has served as a community center and gathering place for more than five decades. It was originally part of the 17th Street School, most of which has been demolished.

“For 50 years it’s been the place for people to come together for ceremonies and all types of artistic programs,” said Sondra Evans, Westminster’s cultural arts coordinator. “There’s a lot of memories connected to it.”

In November, the city sold the land, 1.4 acres at Hoover Street and Westminster Avenue, to Delma Corp., a Huntington Beach-based developer, for $630,000. The money was one of the final funding components for a new $6-million cultural arts center and theater that the city has been planning for years.

Delma plans to build an 80-bed care facility for elderly residents, which will complement the adjacent senior apartment complex.

Free shows featuring music, theater and dance troupes and other performers will be today at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. An auction of the auditorium’s classic wooden chairs, which date back to the turn of the century, will also take place.

Organizers also will present a photo exhibit of the auditorium’s history, including early variety shows and assemblies, the first Tet Festival and the first Miss Westminster pageant.

The 500-seat auditorium also is historically significant because of its connection to the 17th Street School, built in the ‘20s. The school was the subject of a civil rights trial that led to its integration in the 1940s. Previously, two segregated schools were at the site.

Information: (714) 895-2860.