Clowes Memorial Hall Tickets

Clowes Memorial Hall
Clowes Memorial Hall is situated at 4602 Sunset Avenue at Indianapolis. It is a Performing arts hall built in early 1960s at the cost of $3.5 million.

New York Times Magazine quoted "Culture comes to Indianapolis" witnessing the mission of Clowes Memorial to educate, enrich and entertain the citizens of Indiana and the Butler University community by presenting, promoting and hosting culturally, artistically and internationally diverse programs, events and collaborations.

It was built in 1963 in memory of Dr. George Henry Alexander Clowes, former research director for Eli Lilly and Company who devoted his life to science and the arts. The idea of a multi-purpose hall was originally given by Dr. Alexander Clowes.

The construction was financed by Butler University and donation given by Clowes family, with his wife Edith Whitehall Clowes as a principal donor. Previously it was home to Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for about 20 years.

Clowes Hall has hosted from the traveling Broadway shows to ballet, chamber music concerts and grand scale performances of Indianapolis Opera Company.

The Gothic building of Clowes Memorial Hall is towered at the principal entrance of Butler University. The exterior of the building is made of Indiana limestone while the interior is largely off-poured concrete.

Evans Woollen of Indianapolis and John M. Johansen of Connecticut are the architects of the building. The hall is designed in a shoe-box shape with parallel side walls for the acoustical requirements for symphony.

There is the least possible distance of 113 feet for opera and theater viewer seats from stage to back row for high sound. The three balcony levels form a horseshoe around the main orchestra seating. Around the four story main lobby, the layering of balconies enhances the act of theatergoing.

The design of Clowes Hall was praised and published in several European architectural journals and national press. The halls acoustical design by Russell Johnson, with Bolt Baranek and Newman of Boston has been widely acclaimed.

The main floor of the hall hold the seating capacity of about 1,218, the first terrace box holds 307 and second and third terrace boxes hold 289 and 282 seats respectively. There is some additional 76 pit seating.

That makes a total of 2,172 seats at Clowes Memorial Hall. It is the house of companies like JCFA"s Music at Butler and the Butler Ballet and Broadway in Indianapolis.