Construction began to the live accompaniment of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra - a ceremonial groundbreaking in January 1963 for the hall the orchestra would call home. The Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall, at 777 Ward Avenue on the edge of downtown Honolulu, opened in September 1964 as part of the Honolulu International Center. The complex was a memorial with ambition: built on the historic Ward Estate for around 14 million dollars as a living tribute to Hawaii's veterans, the center - concert hall, arena and exhibition hall - was hailed as the city's first step toward major-city status, and renamed in 1976 for Neal S. Blaisdell, the mayor who drove its construction. The architecture is Hawaii Regional Modernism: the Honolulu firm Merrill, Roehrig, Onodera and Kinder with Los Angeles architect Adrian Wilson designed clean rectilinear lines, low arches and open-air lanais framing the hall's east and west arcades - a building that breathes the climate rather than sealing it out. The 2,158-seat hall carries the state's high culture: home to the Honolulu Symphony and Hawaii Opera Theatre for decades, it has hosted the touring Broadway canon - Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Cats and a 2007 Lion King run - as the islands' only true proscenium road house. The future is under design: the city's Blaisdell Center master plan - with architects including Snohetta - proposes restoring the historic hall and arena while adding new performance and exhibition spaces across the 22-acre campus, an investment on the scale of the 1964 original. Practical notes: the hall sits at Ward and King with large on-site lots shared across the complex - symphony nights and arena events can collide, so early arrival matters; the single-balcony house keeps sightlines honest at every price, and the lanai arcades make intermission an open-air affair year-round.

Type: Theater / Concert Hall

Address: 777 Ward Avenue, Honolulu, United States, 96814

Website: https://blaisdellcenter.com

Cover Charge: 1

Capacity: 2158

Opening Date: 12/09/1964

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