History
Opened in 1934 as the Municipal Auditorium, the building paired an arena of about 9,300 seats with an opera house, their stages set back to back. It was renamed for former mayor Henry Kiel during World War II.
The St. Louis Hawks made it their home from 1955 until 1968, and Kiel hosted NBA All-Star Games in 1958, 1962 and 1965. Saint Louis University basketball played there for decades, and the arena was a regular stop for wrestling and concerts.
The complex closed in 1991. The arena side came down in 1992 and Kiel Center opened on the site in 1994, while the opera house was later restored and reopened in 2011.
Why it matters: It was the home court of the St. Louis Hawks, the city's only NBA franchise.
Timeline
- April 14, 1934
The city's combined auditorium and opera house opened.
- 1943Renamed for Henry Kiel[2]
The building took the name of former mayor Henry Kiel.
- 1958NBA All-Star Game[2]
Kiel hosted the first of three NBA All-Star Games (1958, 1962, 1965).
- 1968Hawks leave[2]
The St. Louis Hawks' tenancy ended in 1968.
- April 27, 1991
Both halves of the building closed in 1991.
- 1992
The arena portion was razed to clear space for the Kiel Center.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped[1,2] |
|---|---|
| Current use | Enterprise Center (opened 1994 as Kiel Center), home of the NHL's St. Louis Blues |
| Surviving remnants | The Opera House half facing Market Street survived and reopened in 2011 as the Peabody Opera House, now the Stifel Theatre |
| Built on the site | Enterprise Center (Opened 1994 as Kiel Center) |
| Mapped location | Former venue site |
Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)
Teams & events
| Saint Louis Billikens | NCAA · 1945–1991 |
|---|---|
| St. Louis Hawks | NBA · 1955–1968 |
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Other names | Municipal Auditorium (1934–1943) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1401 Clark Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103, St. Louis, Missouri[2] |
| Venue type | Arena |
| Sports | Basketball, Boxing & wrestling |
| Level | NBA, NCAA |
| Opened | April 14, 1934[1,2] |
| Last used for sports | April 27, 1991[1,2] |
| Demolished | 1992[1,2] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Original capacity | 9,300[1,2] |
| Capacity notes | Wikipedia and Urban Review STL both give 9,300. |
| Architect | LaBeaume & Klein[2] |
| Construction cost | $6 million (1934) |
| Closure | Closed in 1991 and partly demolished to make room for the new Kiel Center arena. |
Documented details
Connected venues
Sources
- From Municipal Auditorium to Enterprise Center, UrbanReviewSTL. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: capacity, closed, demolished, opened
- Kiel Auditorium, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, architect, capacity, closed, coordinates, demolished, events, opened, teams
Research confidence
Key facts on this page (opening, closing, status and location) are each supported by sources, with key dates corroborated by at least two independent sources. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (2)
- Urban Review STL implies the renaming followed Kiel's 1942 death; Wikipedia gives 1943.
- Urban Review STL says the rear convention hall was razed in 1992 or 1993.
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.