[T]he city of Burlington is asking residents and business owners to participate in an online citywide survey on the future of Memorial Auditorium, the city Community and Economic Development Office announced Monday.
Memorial Auditorium, built in 1927 as a 2,600-person auditorium and civic center to honor World War I veterans, hosted some of the most famous bands of the 20th century and a variety of community events throughout the years including farmers markets, a day care center, and a teen center. The building’s basement was also home to 242 Main, the country’s longest-running all-ages punk rock venue.
But disrepair and public safety concerns forced tenants to leave the building in late 2016, and since then the auditorium, located at the corner of Main and South Union streets, has sat idle and empty.
After the building closed, many residents were left worrying what would happen to the building’s original structure, which many believe is essential to maintaining Burlington’s history.
Others have said that the building’s cultural significance is the most important aspect of the building and that it should be a city civic center open to all.
The question of how to move forward with Memorial Auditorium has continued to nag at the community, city councillors and Mayor Miro Weinberger.
“Memorial Auditorium has played an important role in Burlington’s history as a community gathering place,” Weinberger said in a press release. “There are many possible options and we want to draw on the creativity and innovation of Burlingtonians to help us sketch out the right path forward.”
Last year the mayor announced that he would be putting together a team to address the future of Memorial Auditorium in fall 2017. Then again earlier this year, Weinberger said working on the future of Memorial Auditorium was a “front-burner” issue and that his administration would have a proposal to restore the auditorium by the fall.
James Lockridge, executive director of Big Heavy World and longtime supporter of Memorial Auditorium’s cultural importance, worked with CEDO on the survey.
Though Lockridge would like to see more decisiveness from the city, he said that his communication on Memorial Auditorium with the mayor has always been productive.
“I’m an ally to the administration even when I’ve been a critic of it,” Lockridge said.
Neale Lunderville, interim director of CEDO, says that the survey is the culmination of the mayor’s pledge to public engagement on this issue and that depending on the feedback gathered, the administration is hoping to get a question on the ballot either in November or in March.
The survey includes basic questions about awareness of Memorial Auditorium to more complex questions about conceptual ideas of what the space may contain in addition “the assumption that the primary space will remain a publicly owned, public assembly space.”
This list includes everything from “youth music space” to “tasting room for food, beer or wine.”
“I was with a team doing an inspection of it last night and I was reminded of what an incredible space it is,” said Lunderville.
“There’s really nothing like it in Burlington and when I think what it can do for the community in Burlington, I’m very excited,” Lunderville said on the prospect of re-establishing Memorial Auditorium as a public space in Burlington.
In the first week the survey has been available there have been 1,200 responses. CEDO has also planned on being at 12 different events across Burlington over this week and next with paper copies of the survey.
CEDO, along with the Parks, Arts, and Culture Committee, intends to release the results of the survey during a public meeting in the third week of August, and then host community workshops to further refine the plan in the coming weeks.
As of publication, a location for the meeting has not yet been decided on.
The survey will remain open through Aug. 5.
