The Atlanta Municipal Auditorium was first conceived in 1906 after another project was abandoned in its early stages. This left public money available for use, and the citizens of Atlanta proposed the construction of an auditorium. The Atlanta Auditorium-Armory Company formed in 1907 to take over the proposed project, and the building was completed in 1909 and cost $192,000.
The Atlanta Municipal Auditorium was constructed for many uses, and it has proven to be a worthy structure since its completion. The auditorium has been used for plays, concerts, opera, all types of shows from car to art, dances, circus acts, rallies, graduation ceremonies, campaigns and a number of sports events. It became a place for the most popular Atlanta functions.
In the mid-1930s, the theater section of the auditorium was completely remodeled by the original architect for the full auditorium, John Robert Dillon, in order to allow for more people and an elaborated setting. The city put $600,000 into this process. In 1940, the building was badly damaged in a fire, but the city rebuilt it shortly thereafter. However, marble and concrete were used instead of the original red bricks.
In the early 1900s, the site was used for the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York. The 1932 campaign for presidency toured through the auditorium, where Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed an immense crowd with his speech. In the 1930s, there was a ball for the "Gone With The Wind" film release, and in the 1960s, the site became popular for rock shows with groups such as Pink Floyd, the Allman Brothers and Jimi Hendrix.
The city of Atlanta sold the auditorium to Georgia State University in 1979 because of the rise of other auditoriums and theaters in the Atlanta area like the Omni, the Civic Center and the Woodruff Arts Center. The college fully occupied the auditorium in 1982, but took down the main hall because it was too expensive to renovate; the upper floor was later extended. The school now uses the building as its Alumni Hall.