Auditorio Nacional, Concert and multi-purpose hall in Chapultepec, Mexico.
Auditorio Nacional is a cultural center on Paseo de la Reforma at Arquímedes, beside Campo Marte in Chapultepec. Its facade of rough tan stone, treated with martelina, has a massive angled wall on the left topped by glass panels and a long horizontal beam inscribed "AUDITORIO NACIONAL". Beneath the beam sits a ribbed cylindrical drum and a curved wall, with wide shallow steps leading up to the entrance.
Built in 1952 under President Miguel Alemán Valdés for equestrian events, the building was finished in 1953 under Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, who redirected it as a municipal auditorium; only the seating of the first two floors survives from that structure. Hugo Enrique Díaz Moro led the project and Fernando Peña executed it. Closed in 1989, it reopened on 6 September 1991 after an 18-month remodel by Abraham Zabludovsky and Teodoro González de León.
The name Auditorio Nacional reflects its role as a national venue; the building opened in 1953 as a municipal auditorium after starting as an equestrian facility. In the lobby, a display case holds objects left by performers, and the walkway beneath the main stairs has steel casts of artists' handprints. The adjoining Lunario hosts smaller concerts for about 1,000 people.
The main entrance faces Paseo de la Reforma at Arquímedes, beside Campo Marte; the Auditorio station on Metro Line 7 and Metrobús Line 7 is a short walk away. The building has two parking levels. The Lunario, a separate hall for about 1,000 people, hosts smaller concerts.
The hall houses the largest pipe organ in Latin America, an instrument with thousands of pipes that is played on special occasions. In 2007 the venue received an award from Billboard as best concert location in its size category.
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