Owner State of Rhode Island Built 1927 Architectural style Classical Revival Opened 27 January 1950 Phone +1 401-421-2787 | Type Performing arts center Architect Multiple Capacity 1,900 Area 5,060 m² | |
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Operator Professional Facilities Management Address One Ave of the Arts, Providence, RI 02903, USA Similar Providence Performing Arts Center, Trinity Repertory Company, Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, Dunkin' Donuts Center, Buttonwood Park Zoo Profiles | ||
Veterans Memorial Auditorium (The VETS; formerly VMA) is a performing arts theater in Providence, Rhode Island. Construction began in 1928, but was delayed by the Great Depression. The theater was finally completed in 1950. The VETS is among the oldest arts venues in Rhode Island and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was completely restored in 1990. The ornately-designed 1,931-seat concert hall houses the largest theater stage in Rhode Island and is considered to have some of the best acoustics in New England. The performance space features a gilded proscenium arch, allegorical and heraldic ceiling murals. The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra holds several concerts at The VETS each year. In addition, The VETS hosts a broad range of events each season, offering a variety of performances, rehearsals, exhibitions, concerts, educational events, meetings, and other special events. Since 1950, when the theater opened, it had begun to fall into disrepair and in the early 1980s the state of Rhode Island was thinking of closing the auditorium and the adjoining Masonic Temple and reducing the complex to a parking lot. In 1983, the Veterans Memorial Auditorium Preservation Association (VMAPA) was formed to try to save the auditorium. They rallied for five years and in 1988 Governor DiPrete awarded the VMAPA with $5 million for the building's renovation. Since that time it has been a center for the arts. In 2015 The VETS completed another series of renovations making it a state of the art performance facility. The Renaissance Providence Hotel, formerly the Masonic Temple, is located directly adjacent to the The VETS.