For countless generations, the Native American residents at the confluence of the Big Sioux River with the Missouri River held their ceremonies, performances, and sporting events primarily outdoors, without need of specialized structures.
 The fourth Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1830 forced them to leave Iowa, and forty years later the new White residents built the first in a series of five major indoor venues for Sioux City: the Academy of Music of 1870, the Peavey Grand Opera House of 1888, the Old Municipal Auditorium of 1909, this one completed in 1950, and Gateway Arena of 2003.

The Academy of Music was located between Pierce and Douglas Streets on the southern side of Fourth Street.
 Designed by local architect H.O. Ball and erected by the firm of Sharp and Beck, it employed cast iron columns, a brick exterior, and terra cotta.
 The first floor included the city post office and commercial space, with an 800-seat performance space on the second floor.
 As the city's only large hall, it held high school graduations, theatrical performances, concerts, and speeches, including at least two by Susan B. Anthony speaking on behalf of women's suffrage.
 The building ended its life as part of the growing Davidson Brothers Department Store, and was demolished in 1910 to make way for a better structure for the store.

The Peavey Grand Opera House was built in 1888, and "this elegant facility replaced the Academy of Music as the city's cultural center".
 The limitations of the Academy of Music were clear by 1881, but it wasn't until it was combined with the desire for a new chamber of commerce building that it became a viable project.
 Architects James W. Martin and Oscar Cobb joined forces to design the resulting Romanesque revival building with a mansard roof, located on the northwest corner of Fourth and Jones Streets.
 A bank and a drug store occupied either side of the theater lobby on the first floor, while the chamber of commerce, local weather bureau, real estate and other offices filled the upper floors.
 The opera hall itself was in back, and seated over 1300 in lavish style.
 During its heyday, Sarah Bernhardt, "the most famous actress the world has ever known", and Edwin Booth, the greatest Hamlet of the 19th Century, each played the Peavey.
 After 1909 the hall was no longer in demand, and the deteriorating hall was eventually relegated to Hans Esperson's auto repair garage, while the elegant front offices housed the seedy Grand Hotel and Harry Zanfes' Cafe.
 The whole thing went up in flames on November 3, 1931.

The Old Municipal Auditorium of 1909 was built on the southwest corner of Seventh and Douglas Streets, directly across Douglas from the site where construction would begin seven years later on the outstanding Woodbury County Courthouse.
 Designed by architect George W. Burkhead, this was the first of the buildings dedicated exclusively to the performance hall.
 Its most distinctive features are the pediment high over the main entrance, above the brick cornice, and prominent keystones over the entrances.
 It was undistinguished architecturally; soon after its construction, The Western Architect characterized it as "an ugly, barn-like structure dignified by the name of 'Auditorium'."
It was the home of television station KCAU-TV (original call letters KVTV) from 1955 until early 2017.

The Old Municipal Auditorium of 1909 was no longer meeting the needs of Sioux City by the 1930s, but the Sioux City Auditorium was a long time in coming.
 Originally designed by architect Knute E. Westerlind in 1938, it took nearly 12 years to complete.
 In the election of 1938, city voters approved a $590,000 bond referendum, but the city postponed action in an ultimately fruitless bid to secure federal assistance.
 Finally issuing the bonds in April 1941, the basement was dug and pilings driven before World War II shortages caused the project to grind to a halt in 1943.
 Work resumed in 1947, but only after the electorate approved an additional $975,000 bond referendum.
 Post-war inflation, cost over-runs, poor planning, and
For countless generations, the Native American residents at the confluence of the Big Sioux River with the Missouri River held their ceremonies, performances, and sporting events primarily outdoors, without need of specialized structures.  The fourth Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1830 forced them to leave Iowa, and forty years later the new White residents built the first in a series of five major indoor venues for Sioux City: the Academy of Music of 1870, the Peavey Grand Opera House of 1888, the Old Municipal Auditorium of 1909, this one completed in 1950, and Gateway Arena of 2003.
The Academy of Music was located between Pierce and Douglas Streets on the southern side of Fourth Street.  Designed by local architect H.O. Ball and erected by the firm of Sharp and Beck, it employed cast iron columns, a brick exterior, and terra cotta.  The first floor included the city post office and commercial space, with an 800-seat performance space on the second floor.  As the city's only large hall, it held high school graduations, theatrical performances, concerts, and speeches, including at least two by Susan B. Anthony speaking on behalf of women's suffrage.  The building ended its life as part of the growing Davidson Brothers Department Store, and was demolished in 1910 to make way for a better structure for the store.
The Peavey Grand Opera House was built in 1888, and "this elegant facility replaced the Academy of Music as the city's cultural center".  The limitations of the Academy of Music were clear by 1881, but it wasn't until it was combined with the desire for a new chamber of commerce building that it became a viable project.  Architects James W. Martin and Oscar Cobb joined forces to design the resulting Romanesque revival building with a mansard roof, located on the northwest corner of Fourth and Jones Streets.  A bank and a drug store occupied either side of the theater lobby on the first floor, while the chamber of commerce, local weather bureau, real estate and other offices filled the upper floors.  The opera hall itself was in back, and seated over 1300 in lavish style.  During its heyday, Sarah Bernhardt, "the most famous actress the world has ever known", and Edwin Booth, the greatest Hamlet of the 19th Century, each played the Peavey.  After 1909 the hall was no longer in demand, and the deteriorating hall was eventually relegated to Hans Esperson's auto repair garage, while the elegant front offices housed the seedy Grand Hotel and Harry Zanfes' Cafe.  The whole thing went up in flames on November 3, 1931.
The Old Municipal Auditorium of 1909 was built on the southwest corner of Seventh and Douglas Streets, directly across Douglas from the site where construction would begin seven years later on the outstanding Woodbury County Courthouse.  Designed by architect George W. Burkhead, this was the first of the buildings dedicated exclusively to the performance hall.  Its most distinctive features are the pediment high over the main entrance, above the brick cornice, and prominent keystones over the entrances.  It was undistinguished architecturally; soon after its construction, The Western Architect characterized it as "an ugly, barn-like structure dignified by the name of 'Auditorium'." It was the home of television station KCAU-TV (original call letters KVTV) from 1955 until early 2017.
The Old Municipal Auditorium of 1909 was no longer meeting the needs of Sioux City by the 1930s, but the Sioux City Auditorium was a long time in coming.  Originally designed by architect Knute E. Westerlind in 1938, it took nearly 12 years to complete.  In the election of 1938, city voters approved a $590,000 bond referendum, but the city postponed action in an ultimately fruitless bid to secure federal assistance.  Finally issuing the bonds in April 1941, the basement was dug and pilings driven before World War II shortages caused the project to grind to a halt in 1943.  Work resumed in 1947, but only after the electorate approved an additional $975,000 bond referendum.  Post-war inflation, cost over-runs, poor planning, and 
Sioux City Municipal Auditorium