Chautauqua Auditorium
DIRECTIONS
Click here for map of Chautauqua Grounds
From Highway 36
Take the Baseline Rd exit. Go west on Baseline Rd to just past 9th St and turn left into Chautauqua Park onto Kinnikinnic Rd.
To Auditorium
Go west on Baseline Rd to 12th St and turn left (south).
Drive approx 1/8 mile and you’re there!
To Box Office
Look for the kiosk just northwest of the Auditorium.
To the Community House
Drive south on Kinnikinnic to Morning Glory Dr and turn left. The Community House is the 4th building on your left.
To Academic Hall (main offices)
Academic Hall is the two-story tan building just across the road from the Community House on Morning Glory Dr.
Handicap parking is available just east of the Community House and in the parking lot south of Academic Hall.
RTD
Bus number #210 runs every half hour from the main bus terminal. Call RTD at 303 299-6000 for details. http://www.RTD-Denver.com
HISTORY
On July 4, 1898, over 4,000 people gathered for the opening day of the Colorado Chautauqua. Boulder civic leaders and Texas educators had joined together to create a cultural and educational summer retreat. Today, the Colorado Chautauqua is one of three remaining Chautauquas in the United States, and the only site west of the Mississippi River, in continuous operation, with its original structures intact.
Before radio and television, the Chautauqua movement united millions in common cultural and educational experiences. Orators, performers, and educators traveled a national Chautauqua circuit of more than 12,000 sites bringing lectures, performances, concerts, classes, and exhibitions to thousands of people in small towns and cities. Theodore Roosevelt called Chautauquas, �the most American thing in America.�
Located at the base of Boulder�s Flatirons, Chautauqua Park is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a local landmark. The Colorado Chautauqua Association, a 501 © (3) organization, leases twenty-six acres of land from the City of Boulder, on which are situated:
- The Auditorium (1898) included on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been voted one of the top ten places artists love to play because of its superior acoustics and intimate feel.
- The Dining Hall (1898) is now open all year.
- The Academic Hall (1900) houses Chautauqua�s administrative offices and housed the first collegiate-level summer school in Colorado.
- The Community House (1918) is a stunning example of Arts and Crafts architecture and has been winterized and renovated.
The Association also owns and operates sixty cottages and two lodges; summer and winter residents gift Chautauqua with a vibrant and lively community presence. Boulder City Parks and Recreation Department manages the many hiking trails and mountain parks land owned by the City of Boulder. Our grounds are graced with the serene Centennial Garden and the award-winning Waterwise Garden.
Chautauqua�s historic preservation program has been recognized with an Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for outstanding renovation and for rejuvenation of Chautauqua programming. In 1997, Chautauqua received the Stephen H. Hart Award from the Colorado Historical Society for excellence in preservation.
In its 105th year, Chautauqua remains committed to its historic purpose, offering outstanding cultural and educational programs, and attracting more than a million visitors each year.
Read what the Front Range Living Magazine wrote about Chautauqua.
