Although primarily built for the high school, Chenery Auditorium was destined to be much more. An August 1922 Kalamazoo Gazette article stated that it would be used for “...assemblies, lectures, musicals…and as a community auditorium for the general public.” Before this, local or traveling theatrical and musical events were presented in various venues ranging from halls to buildings like the Academy of Music, the Masonic Temple, various churches and smaller movie houses.

Before the completion of Chenery, the newest space in the city, the 1913 Michigan State Armory on Water Street, contained a hall that could seat over 3,000. The Kalamazoo Choral Union held their annual May Festivals, where they hosted such artists as Jascha Heifetz and the Chicago Symphony. Pablo Casals performed there in February of 1920. The large hall probably did not provide the best acoustical setting. In addition to concerts, it was also used for the local National Guard, conventions, and even sports like indoor baseball.

This may be why the voters finally supported a high school auditorium when the issue came before them a second time in 1921 after being defeated a year earlier. An auditorium was a very typical feature in a high school, but what was different about the one at Kalamazoo Central, designed by Rockwell LeRoy and built by the DeRight Brothers, was its size. It had a total of 2,700 seats, close to double that of the student population at the high school, which amounted to a little less than 1,400 at that time.

In October 1924 writer Glenn Aumond said about the completed auditorium, “It is immerse, comfortable, atmospheric without frills; indeed it is the embodiment which represents a great commonwealth of opportunity.” The interior, finished in colors of gray, gold and bronze, was the site for five days of festivities during its dedication with speeches, performances by local musicians, and a performance of “Carmen” by Geraldine Farrar and her Grand Opera Company. Aumond also said in his article, “...for a number of years we have wanted an atmosphere where we could appreciate the high-class attractions which come here, other than those which play our local theatres throughout the season.” And that’s what Kalamazoo received. 

It did not take long for Chenery to become both a center for high school productions and THE performing arts space in Kalamazoo. Beginning in 1924, the Kalamazoo Board of Education sponsored the Kalamazoo Philharmonic Concerts, which presented many concerts with various performers. The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra moved from the Masonic Temple to the High School Auditorium in 1926 and remained there for over forty years. The Kalamazoo Community Concerts, originally at the Civic Auditorium, soon moved to Chenery in 1933, welcoming a long list of performers, many of whom, according to Mrs. Edna Stanley, a long-time President of the organization, “...loved to come here because they loved the Central Auditorium and its superb acoustics. Many of the European conductors told us it was just like playing at home.”

In 1959 it was felt the auditorium needed renovation, which was funded by a $200,000 grant from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. The work was completed in 1960 and gave the auditorium new ceiling chandeliers, an orchestra pit, aisle carpeting, new auditorium doors, dressing rooms, lighting, ivory and gold interior colors, and reduced the number of seats to 2,577. Montague Myers was the designer, with Miller-Davis Company the contractors. 

Over the last twenty years, additional work on the auditorium has been funded from various school millages. In 1997, more leg room was created by reducing the number of seats to 1,889, the interior received a new color scheme, and other areas were remodeled. Kingscott Associates designed this project with the work once again done by Miller-Davis Company.

In 2007, the Friends of Chenery formed to raise the private funds necessary to undertake an extensive list of improvements to the facility. The multi-million dollar renovation completed in 2010 was the outcome of an investment effort begun by concerned citizens in 2001. It was then that the Kalamazoo Public Schools built a new auditorium at the current Central High School, thus relocating a significant number of KPS’s needs for Chenery to the new building. These citizens formed the “Friends of Chenery,” a volunteer group whose goal was to preserve and enhance Chenery for the future of our community. With the cooperation of Kalmazoo Public Schools and the architectural visions of Kingscott Associates, a private fund-raising campaign was launched to preserve Kalmazoo’s gem.

The refurbished auditorium has seating for 1,550 - reduced from 1,800 - to improve sight lines, increase patron comfort, establish a “sound lock” between the auditorium and the lobby, and most significantly, to enhance the auditorium’s already superb acoustics. Chenery now has a new stage acoustical shell, all new seats, new lighting, and improved artist amenities such as a new artist reception room and dressing rooms. Improvements to the heating and ventilation system, along with the addition of air conditioning, will allow for increased use of the facility during warm summer months. Some of the most significant changes have been made outside the performance hall – a prominent two-story lobby greets visitors as they enter the building, generating new space for exceptions, pre-concert lectures, and an information gathering place for audiences.

An enhanced entrance off Dutton Street now includes a covered drop-off area adjacent to improved parking behind the building. Another focus of the renovation was to improve accommodations for patrons with disabilities, and a ramp inside the Dutton Street entrance now provides a comfortable means of entrance and egress. The Westnedge Avenue entrance to the auditorium has been upgraded as well. The building’s elevator, restroom facilities, and box office have been improved.

The Friends of Chenery Campaign Committee worked cooperatively with the Kalamazoo Public Schools, the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, Kingscott (architects and engineers) and Miller-Davis Company (construction manager), executing the extensive renovation and restoration. The result is a 1,550-seat auditorium that compliments the performing arts venues of various sizes currently available in the community. 

For over 150 years, there has been a school on the corner of South Westnedge Avenue and Vine Street. The Kalamazoo Public Schools began in 1833 and by the 1850s, had created four different school districts in the village. Voters petitioned to consolidate all four into one district, as allowed by state law. The School District purchased land at Vine and Westnedge in 1857 and by January, 1859 opened the "Union School," an impressive Italianate structure which housed grades one through twelve.

An earthquake in 1870 caused concerns about the structure’s safety. Ten years later, voters approved funds for a new building, completed by 1882 and called simply Kalamazoo High School. By this time a number of elementary schools dotted the village, including a new one next door to the high school called the Vine Street School. Fire destroyed the high school fifteen years later, and a new structure replaced it in 1898.

Overcrowding led the voters to approve funds for a new high school. The Grand Rapids firm of Robinson and Campau designed the building, choosing the style of Collegiate Gothis. The Kalamazoo School District decided to build the school in stages. By 1913, a gymnasium and the south wing of the present building along Vine Street were ready for occupancy, but the 1898 high school structure continued to be used.

By 1920, overcrowding once again led the District to obtain approval for additional classrooms and an auditorium. Although the first request failed, the second attempt a year later passed. In June of 1922, voters approved additional funds for the auditorium and an additional classroom building which would connect the north wing to the gymnasium.

Built by the first of A.J. DeKoning, the north wing, which faced South Westnedge, opened in the fall of 1922, and two years later, the auditorium and classroom addition were completed. In October of 1924, the Kalamazoo Gazette commented about the building complex: “Standing for what it does, it is not an expense but an investment of the southwest kind.”

Kalamazoo Central High School moved to its new location on Drake Road in 1972 but this building, renamed the Community Education Center, has never stopped being an active part of our community’s life. 

Born on a farm near Comstock, Michigan in 1895, Howard Chenery was not destined for a career in agriculture. He wanted to act, memorizing Shakespeare in the corn fields and performing in high school productions. After graduating in 1912, he became a traveling salesman and eventually found his way to the stage at age 18 in the Upper Penninsula. He returned to attend Western State Normal School, receiving his teacher certificate in 1916. The next few years were filled with teaching, summer stock, and action during World War 1 where he served as a message courier. 

After the war, Chenery returned to Western and received a Bachelor’s degree. Kalamazoo Central offered him a position teaching drama at the high school, which included the task of working with the architect of the new auditorium. He stayed in this position for a few years but the stage beckoned him again, and he acted with a national touring company and wrote plays, one of which, “The Ferguson Family,” appeared on Broadway. He returned to Kalamazoo by 1929 with the Wright Players and organized, with several others, the Kalamazoo Civic Players. Shortly afterward he returned to Kalamazoo Central as the full-time drama teacher, a position he held for over thirty years.

Chenery loved working with young people, commenting that they “...were always so stimulating for me.” He wrote plays for his students in the belief that there was not enough appropriate material for them. He also wrote textbooks on the theater and for years, along with teaching, managed the auditorium that now bears his name. It will be known how much time, effort and even money he poured into the structure. Any profits from high school productions were plowed right back into the building. 

It has been estimated that in his career at Kalamazoo Central High School, Howard Chenery directed over 300 plays and musicals. He never left the stage as an actor, performing in many Kalamazoo Civic productions and helping organize a number of local theatrical groups, several of which were headed by former students. Chenery retired from the faculty of Kalamazoo Central in 1961 but continued to act, lecture and direct.

Behind Howard, there was always Ruth, his wife since 1930. Ruth Scott Chenery came to the area to attend Kalamazoo College, graduating in 1924. She taught for several years until her marriage to Howard. For many years, Ruth managed the auditorium’s box office and kept the books, an unpaid position. Her cousin Diane Bishop, reports that Ruth was a wonderful, gracious lady, very strong-willed with a wicked sense of humor, who preferred to be in the background. Her contributions, though, were certainly recognized. As one person who knew them both said, “In all his [Howard’s} successes, Ruth has played an important part.”

Both Howard and Ruth influenced and supported many of the hundreds of students they encountered over their years in the community. In a scrapbook of letters written for the dedication of the newly-named Chenery Auditorium in 1973, Cornelia and William Robinson put it best; “Long after you may no longer be present, your name(s) will be a reminder that one man and one woman can touch the lives of so many.”

Rockwell LeRoy was chosen by the Board of Education to design both the high school auditorium and the classroom building that would connect the gym with the rest of the school. LeRoy was no stranger to the area, having practiced locally as an architect since 1906. Early in his professional career, he designed three different vaudeville/movie theatres in downtown Kalamazoo, the Fuller, Elite and Lyric, as well as several of the buildings at Oakwood Park on Woods Lake, including the band shell, auditorium, and park entrance. He also designed the new Lincoln School on North Burdick Stree,t which opened in 1922. More than just a school, and a sizable one with forty classrooms, Lincoln also became a community center with two gyms, a pool, and a Public Library branch in addition to a 1,500-set auditorium for use by students and the general public. 

The Kalamazoo Public Schools hired Howard Chenery to serve as a consultant because of his stage experience. In an interview, Chenery stated that, “Originally, he [LeRoy] had it [the auditorium] wide enough to play basketball on.” He went on to add, “I insisted that he place balconies and a gallery in the structure.” Chenery’s assistance may have been needed because LeRoy had never designed an auditorium of this size, which would be almost double his largest theatre at the time [the Fuller] which had 1,600 seats.

The combined efforts of these individuals and the local building firm, DeRight Brothers, resulted in a space that a Gazette writer described as “...every inch a theatre! Something of which the community may feel more than proud.” LeRoy continued to work as an architect until 1942. Although there is no complete list of his buildings available, another prominent structure he designed was the 1939 Federal Building on West Michigan Avenue in Kalamazoo. Rockwell LeRoy may not be a name found in Kalamazoo history books, but his buildings stand as a testament to his talent and skill. 

Every Steinway piano gets a unique serial number when it is made, and ours was no exception. Unfortunately, someone painted over the number many years ago, so neither we, nor Detroit Steinway, could figure out what year it was made!

There has, however, been a lot of speculation over the years based on other bits of knowledge. For example, our piano was previously strung with steel strings instead of copper, which was a Steinway practice in the early 1940’s so that the copper could be used in the war effort.

Luckily for us, The Gilmore regularly uses our space - and many of their incredible pianists love and have chosen to play on our instrument over others that have been brought in. In May of 2019, Gilmore brought in Kirill Gerstein, a Russian-American pianist and professor of piano at Musikhochschule Stuttgart in Germany. He was curious about the age of our piano as well, but he has something we don’t - a friend at Steinway. He took a photo of the piano harp’s foundry stamp (pictured right), sent it off to her, and within an hour, she and the Steinway historian responded with not only the piano’s serial number, but it’s history as well.

Here’s what we learned:

• The piano’s harp was cast on 10/17/1932.

• The assembly was completed on 12/13/1940.

• It was then shipped to Detroit Steinway, and then straight to us!

We are so thrilled to finally know exactly how old our amazing piano is. Thank you to The Gilmore, to Kirill Gerstein, to Steinway, and to all of the students and professionals who have played and loved this piece of history over the years!

Much of the research and text above is from Lynn Houghton, the Regional History Curator at the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collection. This information was published following the Chenery Auditorium and Lobby Renovation 2007-2010 Friends of Chenery Campaign. Thank you to everyone who has supported Chenery Auditorium over the decades.